Dragon of Konoha
by shadoweddrm
Summary: A woman twisted between two worlds, learning her limits, finds that old friends and old wounds are returning to her faster than expected. Rated for slight romance, lannguage, and gore. on hold for now...anyway, horrible preview, read and find out please
1. The Beginning

Chapter One

_I don't own any of the Naruto characters, or the characters from Tortall, (Tamora Pierce's books) and don't worry; they'll be added into the story as soon as it makes sense to add them into the story. Sorry if any holdup on the progress of this story is annoying, but what you see is what I have so far. And I apologize if the chapters are a bit shorter than expected… I'm trying to fix that as we speak. Anyway, enjoy!!_

"Being born is something that nobody remembers… unless they use magic to look back on that day that the person was born. Anyway, my view on the day that I was born had made me cry when I first viewed it when I was three (that's saying something because it always was and always will be hard to make me cry). Sometimes the vision still haunts the deepest nightmares of my mind:

'Two newborns cried next to their exhausted mother, the queen. The pregnant nursemaid came into the room to make sure that the queen was asleep before smuggling the children out of the room. That night, after the queen knew about the kidnapping, her bitter tears rained to the floor.

The nursemaid knelt before her master, expecting to be rewarded for a job well done. With a blinding orange flash, her 'lifeless' body fell to the floor, stick red blood pooling around her cooling 'corpse.' Her eyes stared blankly at the master she had trusted, the master who she had broken the law for, the master whose heir was now limp in her still body.

Her master's deep blue eyes stared down at her, now full of regret. His plan to take over the kingdom of Tortall from the incapable hands of his uncle had failed, but his new plan was set into motion. She had accepted acting as his nursemaid, though they had been secretly married (although he didn't know how they had become secretly married in the first place). He stood up from his chair and knelt down beside his "dead wife," checking to make sure that her pulse was indeed gone, as well as the pulse of the child in her womb.

As he felt for the pulse, however, her hands started to glow brown, with a magic that had been unknown to him. Roger of Conté blankly at the supposedly dead woman. Her body changed into that of a woman he knew too well, the woman who had seduced him the night that they had supposedly been married.

Her menacing cackle filled the air as the baby inside of her womb grew to the maturity of a fetus about to become a newborn. Her eyes glowed with wild fury as well as the expectancy of childbirth, the look of a woman before entering labor, before adding another life to the land and the world.

Her body pulsed with magic, and in that blinding flash, her son was born. Picking up her squealing child, she struggled to her feet, walking over to the man she had loved, Roger. Her eyes were now glazed with pain, both from the childbirth and from the wound in her chest, bleeding her life's blood to the floor. When she reached him, she grabbed him by the throat. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor, pulling Roger with her.

"Before the clock runs out on my life, I leave you one last curse. He shall not know his parents, but he shall grow strong nonetheless. The time will come when he shall tear a living heart from a chest. But by then, you and I will be only dust in the mortuary. Grieve for yourself and for me, неряха (Russian for slut…that's what she was), for by the time my body lies cold and unmoving on the ground, your life will be on a crash course to the pits of despair! I will see you, my love, in the deepest reaches of the underworld, where I can repay you for what you have done to me!" She cried as she held the child away from the greedy clutches of the Conté Duke.

"But what do you mean?! What is going to happen?" he asked.

"That is for me to know and for you to die trying to figure out! The sad thing is that our son will never really know his actual parents! Now then, for a name. By the remainder of my magical strength, I deem the Xtopherus (Latin for Christopher) Roger, heir to the riches and magical power of Roger, Duke of Conté, and неряха, Lady of Nightfog. May you be safe…" with that, she wrote his name magically (somehow) on a piece of paper and placed it in his robes (they magically appeared too…) and sent him to the doorstep of a family who had just lost a child in childbirth (Poor family). With her dying breath, the Lady of Nightfog's magic loomed over her son, protecting him. He became safe with another family related to the king and queen of Tortall, who made his nickname Xherus (I guess it's pronounced like a Z…).

"Now then, where was I?" Roger asked as he got up and walked past the lifeless body of his life which was being dissolved by his magic. Sitting on his 'throne,' he stated, "This room is in serious need of being cleaned!"

The child Xherus removed his hand from the scrying glass, nearly dropping it on the ground mere inches below. As he stared at me with sorrowful eyes, the only muster able words, "I'm so sorry!" spilling from his lips, I just fell apart."

Then there came a world of nothingness, and darkness, starting to envelope and diminish the remaining consciousness from her tired mind. It nearly engulfed her, but a bright light held it back, a burning image of Roger plastered in her subconscious.'

Kiki woke up with a start, staring out at the horizon, with the sun hours away from sunrise. She stretched, yawning, while she pulled the sweaty blankets away from her face. Walking over to a wardrobe, she pulled out a light shirt and pants, pulling them onto her slender form. As she looked at the disaster that was her hair, a brush floated over and brushed through it, before it was tucked away inside of a bun, out of the reach of her brutal warm-up.

Kiki gripped the doorknob and opened it after grabbing breakfast from the kitchen. She raced to the town gates and waved at the ninja guarding the doors. He opened the door to let her out of the town of Konoha and Kiki raced out into the woods to perfect her new sword/fire technique.

_If this isn't a long enough first chapter (don't forget the prologue…), then I sincerely apologize. And as for the use of first person which changed to the third person, if you didn't enjoy it, I am sorry again. We finally got to Konoha!! _.


	2. The Double edged dragon

Chapter Two

_Another chapter, another disclaimer; I don't own Roger of Conté, he is owned by Tamora Pierce. I also don't own the Naruto characters. I only own Kiki, Xherus, and __неряха__, seeing as they are the only characters that I thought up._

As Kiki walked deeper into the woods, she came across a small field of flowers. Picking some, she muttered, "Today's the anniversary, Xherus. I wish that it wasn't." As she spoke, a solitary tear trickled from her eye. She quickly brushed it away for she had lost her tears during the war after weeping for the dead. Changing direction, she headed towards the mortuary stone.

Reaching the stone, she gazed upon the solitary figure of Hatake Kakashi, standing at the stone. She quietly came up and stood at the stone next to him. Kiki placed her flowers down beside the stone and whispered, "Cousin, I will never forget what you did for me."

Kakashi looked up upon hearing her words and replied, "He will never forget what you had sacrificed to attempt to save him. You could have been killed in the battlefield, and he will always be grateful to you for that." While saying this, she realized that he had placed one of his hands on her shoulder reassuringly.

She glanced at Kakashi gratefully, not knowing that he possessed a kind side. Standing up, Kiki brushed off her pants and turned to face Kakashi. She grinned as she realized that he was nearly asleep on his feet. Trying to hide a grin, she stated, "Go to bed Kakashi, or else you'll be horrible when training your team tomorrow."

Kakashi looked at her sarcastically before heading back to the village, to rest a few hours before sunrise. Kiki watched him go before turning in the other direction and heading deeper into the woods, towards her delayed practice.

As she was walking, the vibrations of two sets of feet hit her through the ground, one pursuing the other. She jumped into a tree and watched as a young girl ran below, followed by a very large man. Kiki silently stalked them in the trees, but when the girl tripped, she knew that it was the time to take action.

The man walked over to the girl, while she desperately tried to push herself away from the attacker. Before he could swing his fist to punch the child, he found a teenage girl blocking the girl from her punishment.

"Get out of my way, wench!" he yelled as he rushed her, trying to land a good punch to send her to her knees.

Before the punch reached her, though, he found his arm twisted behind his back. The wench had disappeared, but as he felt the applied pressure upward on his arm, he realized that the girl was the one applying pressure.

Then he felt something like a plant wrap around his arm, holding it in place. The teenager stepped back into view, an angry expression on her face. She stared at the would-be attacker, before saying, "Never attack a person when you don't know who they are or what they are. Otherwise, the next time you attack a ninja, you won't be as lucky as to keep your life. Now then, why were you attacking this young child?" she asked, her anger starting to get the better of her, painful memories racing back into her mind. She had had nobody to protect her, aside from herself until George Cooper had saved her and (coincidentally) taken her to her older brother, Jon.

He laughed, "You don't know what this child did, nor would you want to know, girl. Now let me go so that I can punish her in peace."

She frowned even harder as his drunken thoughts reached her mind. _He only wants to hurt her because he's drunk, but that's a bad excuse! I won't let her get hurt for no reason! _

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt her just because you're drunk. I will protect her, and if you keep trying to attack, I'll turn you in for child abuse, no second thoughts. Understand?"

"As if a young WENCH can stop me from hurting my child!" he cried as he broke free of the plant holding him hostage and rushed the young girl. With another invisible (to him at least, since she moved too fast for him to see) move, the man was on the ground, unconscious.

"That was a very stupid mistake," Kiki said as she helped the child to her feet. She teleported them all to the village, where she told the law enforcement what happened. Before the child could thank her, Kiki raced back to the forest, where she decided to not stop for the wall, but simply jump over it.

Kiki ran past the river with the waterfall, jumped to the top of a large cliff, and unsheathed her twin swords. (Okay, I want to add a brief history on the swords. Kiki forged the swords; they're steel covered in diamond and pure magic. This means that they're unbreakable. Her name for the twin blades was, "Dragon blades," known as that because the hilts were shaped in the forms of dragons. They can be forged together into one, but the combined blades lengthen, making one unbreakable blade…blah, blah!) She tore through a couple of boulders to sharpen the blades before she started to practice her fire mastery move, the "dragon storm." Bringing her left blade up above her head and starting her right blade at the ground, she started to spin as if she was on the ice. She brought the blades to the center of her body, a vortex of fire connecting as they spun around her torso, making ever faster circles as she continuously faster.

She brought the swords to a point above her head, and opened her eyes, feeling the vortex of fire raging around her body. Kiki smirked as she flicked the left sword to her left, towards a rock. The dragon storm hit the rock, tearing it to shreds through brute force. The aftermath of the move made her grin, her white teeth gleaming in the predawn light. Walking over to the rock, she sheathed her swords. Bending down to check the rock, she felt it for any remaining heat, and found the rock to be as hot as the molten rock in the mantle, or the lava spewing out of an erupting volcano. Bringing out her swords once more, she went back to working on her techniques.

_Once again, I hope that this is long enough for a chapter and I hope that I didn't make Kakashi seem too nice. Oh, and I don't own Jon either, he is also a character from books by Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite authors. Please send me your reviews so that I can make this story better. I'm going to add more, so keep your pants on please! (Sorry, my friend told me this joke and it had that line in it...lol) Kiki AKA Schoon_


	3. Relax!

Chapter Three

_I don't own the Naruto or Tortallan characters, just Kiki and the dead people, Xherus and Matala. So, enjoy the next segment of my story, and if it sucks, I'll gladly revise it!!!_

While Kiki took a break, Kakashi and his team reached the top of the mountain (go figure). She raised her eyebrows at him, saying, _Coincidence? I think not. _Naruto ran over, to have some ramen since he had forgotten to eat that morning. She handed him the bowl full of steaming soup while the rest of the team sat down next to her. She handed the rest of them ramen (apparently they were going to skip breakfast, and we can't have that, now, can we?) before making herself a bowl.

When Naruto started talking, she rolled her eyes. _Common Naruto_, she thought. He was talking for about five minutes when Sakura decided to interrupt.

"Naruto, SHUT UP!" she yelled, startling Naruto into silence. Everyone looked at her, Kakashi pulling a strand of ramen into his mouth before placing his mask over his mouth and turning to face everyone.

"Let's just go back to eating," Kiki stated, going back to finishing her ramen. Everyone, except for Naruto who was done, went back to eating, Kakashi facing away from everyone before removing his mask and finishing his ramen. Kiki grinned at him, knowing that he was peering over his shoulder to make sure that nobody was peering at him to see his face (they had done that too many times before).

He placed his mask back over his face and turned around, much to the disappointment of the genins. This made Kiki grin even more, and Sasuke stared at her thinking, _You're freaking insane! _She just looked at him and raised her eyebrows. They had a short staring contest, but Kiki eventually won as Sasuke looked away. She grinned once again, and felt the air with her magic, looking for any good air currents.

_There's a warm air current about fifty feet up that would be perfect for gliding. I just need to get up there after unfurling these itchy wings! _She thought as she scratched her shoulders where her wings had appeared. She unfurled them slightly, letting the tips rest on the rocky ground. She brushed her hand along the old wound, which still hurt, even though she had healed it the day before. _That's what I get for tearing the wing, _she thought once again.

Kakashi and his team had started training, so she stood up, ran towards the edge of the cliff, and hurled herself off. The wind rushing past her face, she finished unfurling her wings and felt the warm wind currents under her wings stop her plummet. Angling the bottoms of her wings, she was carried up toward the top of the cliff.

The sun warmed her reptilian dragon like wings, (created by magic) and she flew to the warm current above the cliff. Leveling out, she headed back to the village for a much needed shower. Her clothes smelled like ashes, and her hair was greasy with sweat. Despite this, Kiki smiled, enjoying flight and letting out a quiet, bloodcurdling battle cry.

Reaching the village gates, she slowed, passing the guards and waving. The new guy, caught off guard (tell me how that happened…), fell from the top of the wall. She swooped down, grabbed his arm, and flew him back to the top of the wall.

She placed him next to Iruka and flew away while the new guy was briefed on how he hadn't seen anything yet. Shaking her head, she flew above the maze of streets that made up the village of Konoha, and landed near her house. Making the wings disappear, she walked over to her door and opened it. Walking into her living room, she placed her swords on the table and walked towards the bathroom.

Once inside of the bathroom, she took her clothing off and got in the shower, ridding herself of the reek that had followed her home. Once done, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a towel before wrapping the towel around herself. Kiki opened the door to her bedroom and stepped through, walking to the wardrobe. She pulled out fresh clothes and pulled them on.

Walking back into the living room, she grabbed her belt from the table and sat in a chair. The polisher and a towel flew over to her, allowing her to grab them. Kiki polished her belt and replaced the old belt buckle with a new one, one in the shape of a fire. She placed the belt back on her waist and clipped the swords onto the belt once more. Sighing, she put the polisher and the towel away, washing the towel and her clothes before leaving the room. Kiki opened the door and stepped out into the street, walking through the maze of buildings, towards the edge of town. She peered at the roofs of the buildings, and noticed a roof with an old man with long white hair perched atop of it. She jumped up to the roof and he turned his head away from the looking glass he was using to spy on the women's bath, (again). Jiraiya smiled at Kiki, stating, "Good morning for some research isn't it? Would you like to join me?" he asked.

"No, not really, but thanks for asking. I'm going over to the waterfall to practice my waterbending (from Avatar). If you want to come you can, but on one condition." She replied.

"What's the condition?" Jiraiya asked.

"Try not to do anything perverted please!" was the response as Kiki took off toward the waterfall. Since nobody was in the women's baths, Jiriya took off after Kiki, hoping that she would get drenched in water or something along those lines.

_Okay, I guess I owe everyone an explanation for the bathroom. Well, she had an extra room and she decided, why not make a bathroom, with a reservoir in a Tran dimensional warped space. So, yeah, that's why there's a bathroom at her house. Oh, and she has about three or four spare rooms, and later she's going to build a big house in the wooded part of the village. Yay, foreshadowing!!! Anyway, please review!!! I love reviews, especially when they have things I need to work on!_


	4. Waterfall, troublefall!

Chapter Four

_Okay, chapter four. I hope that I don't screw up… if I do, just tell me please! Alright, disclaimer time- I don't own the Naruto or Tamora Pierce characters, but I own Kiki and the two dead people. Oh, and Mary, this is for the little idea we discussed during school!! –Schoon- aka –Kiki-_

Kiki waited for Jiraiya after a few minutes since she had gone fast. She placed her elbows on the wall and leaned back, supporting herself against the wall. Closing her eyes, she felt the breeze blow across her face, brushing her hair over the edge of the wall. The sun's warmth wrapped around her skin, curious tendrils wrapping around her wrists. Kiki shooed them off of her wrists, feeling Jiraiya standing next to her. Opening her eyes, she asked, "Are you ready?"

Jiraiya smiled at her and replied, "After you. I'll follow behind you then."

She raised her eyebrows at him before pushing her arms off of the wall and jumping off of the wall. She raced through the trees, Jiraiya racing through next to her. She jumped off of the treetop, somersaulted into the air, and landed next to the water, twirling on her hands before placing her feet on the compacted earth. Jiraiya landed next to her, giving her a look that said, _a bit flashy, don't you think? _

Kiki stared at him innocently before taking her shoes off and wading into the water. She jumped under the waterfall and sat down, bending the water around her so that she didn't get wet. Jiraiya was watching, hoping to gather some information for his next book. When he saw the bubble of water around her, he decided to give up on seeing anything. Instead, he got up and walked over to the waterfall to join her meditation.

As he stepped onto one of the rocks, his foot slipped and he fell onto Kiki. Her eyes flew open as their lips met, and his face turned beet red. He pulled his head away and she screeched, "GET OFF OF ME PLEASE!"

He tried to stand up, but found that he couldn't. He replied, "I…can't… move."

"What do you mean you can't move!?" she asked, her voice screeching again.

"I can't move… I don't know why either. Could you try to get me off of you?"

Kiki shoved her hands against his chest, hoping to push him off of her, but found that he wouldn't budge unless she broke his legs. _It would be on the day when I only have element bending, _she sighed. _Well, my magic comes back in a few minutes, until then I'll be stuck with this bozo. What should I do until then?_

Jiraiya looked at Kiki, and she stated, "Until I get my magic back, we're stuck. So, just so long as you keep the perverted thoughts to a minimum, I won't have to beat you to a pulp when my magic comes back."

He nodded sleepily, the sound of the waves lulling him into unconsciousness, and fell asleep, his head falling onto her chest. _Great, even in his sleep he's a pervert, _she thought. Kiki stared at him and shifted uncomfortably, his body pinning her arms where they couldn't move anything, his head falling to the center of her chest. She yawned, feeling the magic waiting, waiting to resume its position in her body, after she had used the entirety of it that morning during her practice.

Suddenly, Kakashi strolled over to them and asked, "Is there something wrong or is it just the picture I'm getting? If you're really together, creepy as it may be, GET A ROOM!"

She stared at him, eyes pleading, and said, "Get him off of me! He's starting to drool!"

Jiraiya, oblivious to their conversation, started giggling, and Kiki cringed as more drool oozed out of his mouth and onto her shirt. _Note to self: BURN THIS SHIRT, _she thought as she stared at Kakashi again.

(Okay, just a background on Kiki. She's not 12 and she's not a chunin. She's 16 and she's a jonin! My friend read this thinking she was 12, and was completely disgusted by the thought. Sorry for any confusion!)

Kakashi moved the rock that would have otherwise broken Jiraiya's leg, and Kiki instantly pushed Jiraiya off of herself. She stood under the waterfall, drenching herself, so that the drool would be washed off of her shirt. She walked back into the cave and sat down gratefully. She bent all of the water from her clothes using waterbending, and then relaxed against the wall, the cold rock calming her down.

"Kakashi," she stated.

"Hmm?" he asked, propping Jiraiya against the wall before sitting down himself.

"Please don't tell anyone about this. This was the most mortifying thing that has happened to me in my entire life."

Kakashi looked at her, laughter shining in his eyes, before stating, "I've been there before, and I wouldn't dream of it. But don't you think that Jiraiya will tell somebody?"

She laughed and stated, "He won't even remember what happened, let alone tell anybody. Besides, even if he did remember, he wouldn't dare tell anybody about this."

Kiki was greeted by silence, and barely even noticed when her magic finally drained away the rest of her strength, leaving her without any energy for the next few minutes while it returned. Yawning, she barely noticed her head slip to Kakashi's lap while she slipped into unconsciousness.

_I can explain the whole lap part, you see, my friend and I decided that it would be better to put it there than on the shoulder, just for the joy of writing! Anyway, don't hate me please!! Reviews are welcome, as well as creative criticism!!! Help me make my story better please!!__ Schoon_


	5. Enter the Shadows

Chapter Five

_Okay, chapter five is here, and that means, a disclaimer! I, Schoon, do not own any of the characters from Naruto or Tortall, I own Kiki and the dead people (but who cares about the dead characters, they're dead aren't they?) Anyway, I hope that you enjoy it!! Schoon_

_What is that under my head? It's so warm and comforting. Hmm, I think I'm swimming back to consciousness, _Kiki thought as she felt her mind reenter her body. Her eyes opened weakly, staring up at Kakashi, who looked worried. _I wonder why he's worried, _she thought until she realized that she hadn't given an explanation to why she had passed out.

"Sorry, my magic does that to me when it comes back," Kiki stated tiredly, trying to get up. Her head pounded with a blinding flash, and everything went red. She recalled her head hitting Kakashi's lap again and a small whimper was audible, making her turn beet red in embarrassment. Memories came flooding through her mind, her memories, and those of other people. (That's the part about her magic that sucks; she gets memory attacks when she regains her magic sometimes.) Cool hands were placed on her forehead, and they stayed there until she stopped clutching her head when the brutal assault on her brain ended.

Kiki grabbed one of the hands on her forehead and opened her eyes. Again, Kakashi's worried gaze was staring at her. Her face turning an even deeper red, she stated, "I get floods of memories from the spot that I'm at when my magic comes back, sometimes. They aren't just my memories either; they're memories from other people too. Some of them weren't pretty either."

He looked at her, and then she realized something, _she was holding his hand. _She let go of his hand and stared into his eyes again. _You know, if he were closer to my age, he would probably be a good boyfriend for me, _she thought, before realizing what she was thinking. She still thought of it as an okay thought; she just didn't know if he was thinking the same thing.

(Well, guess what, it was!) Kakashi looked at Kiki and realized that she was still resting her head on his lap. She had been like that for about a half an hour, and his legs were starting to fall asleep. He tried to keep his newly found warm emotion out of his eyes, but Kiki noticed. She raised her left eyebrow in a questioning glance, and he blushed deeply behind his mask.

Jiraiya yawned and stirred, and Kiki realized that her head was still in Kakashi's lap. She quickly sat up, making herself dizzy. _Stupid return of my magic, _she thought. Her head stopped spinning and she turned to lean against the wall of the cave. She closed her eyes and let her presence drift into her core. Feeling her magic brush against her face, she opened her eyes.

In the cave, Kiki stared into space, her pupils completely removed from her eyes. The air grew thick with magic, and Jiraiya asked Kakashi what had happened after he had fallen asleep while being "trapped" on top of Kiki. (Okay, he's a pervert and he wasn't really stuck!!)

Kakashi explained as Kiki explored her magic to find out what had made the feel of it like the feeling she got from her magic on her birthday. (I'll explain this in a sec…)

Kiki looked at the periwinkle/blue fire that engulfed her. The white core that was her soul was completely full, the magic coursing through it. Her dragon self (she was the goddess of firebending/ dragons- remember, these people are polytheistic!! Don't ask me why!!), was still in order, so she peered at her magic to see if it could answer her question. The answer came sooner than she would have expected to learn. Her magic had doubled, as it did every time she became a year older (Every year, the day before her birthday, she was rendered magicless; but the day of her birthday, her magic came back, twice as much as the year before. Sometimes, there were nasty side effects).

Kiki opened her eyes and found Jiraiya staring at her. She was surprised for a second, before looking away from him stubbornly. _I'll teach him not to be a pervert yet, he's corrupted Kakashi! _

He poked her forehead, turning her head to face his. She looked at him, her eyes emotionless, as he stated, "Sorry about earlier. I don't know what happened." His eyes told her that he was telling the truth, and his heartbeat wasn't as fast as it would have been if he were lying.

The girly-girl half of herself, which had made itself known earlier, drove her impulse to make her hug him around the shoulders. _What am I doing?! _Kiki thought, before shrugging and letting go of Jiraiya's shoulders. Her face held a mixture of forgiveness and confusion on it, but she wiped them away quickly.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to grab us some food, any requests?!"

"None here," both of her companions replied (tell me why she's hanging out w/ two PERVERTS!!!!) simultaneously. Smiling, she dashed out of the cave, waterbending the waterfall once again to stay dry, before racing into the woods.

Once she was unable to prod their minds, she reached into her magic and teleported some food from her home. Quickly placing all of it in the pot, she turned to start heading back. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and turned to see two figures relaxing in the shadows.

They looked like dangerous figures, and the one was looking at her. She looked back at the figure, responding to the stare she had been given. The figure's eyes looked at her again, feeling her eyes gazing at him. His partner noticed his stare and whispered something inaudible to even Kiki's inhuman hearing. He nodded, and she decided to see if she could prod into his mind to see if she could find out what they were talking about.

Kiki sat down and closed her eyes, sending her mind out and into his mind. She was entering his mind when she felt his mind detect her presence. Barriers went up immediately and she was forced out of his mind painfully. He didn't know whose mind it had been, and he didn't guess that it had been Kiki's. Her eyes slowly opened, and she saw that his partner had moved behind her.

Standing up, she looked into his eyes, letting no emotions show in her own eyes besides that of curiosity. She read the thought in his eyes, curiosity as it had been in her own eyes. Sighing, she looked away, back to the figure who had forced her out of his mind. He had stood up, and had come over next to her in an instant. Her eyes opened slightly in surprise but quickly closed back to normal.

"Why are you so surprised?" he asked, giving her a questioning look.

"Sorry about that. Not many people move that fast most of the time. Your speed, which is unusual, just startled me a bit."

He smirked slightly, but the smirk vanished in the blink of an eye. Kiki caught it, her eyes faster than even the sharingan (don't ask me why!), and she smiled, catching herself in time to realize that she was now between two strangers and that her magic was acting strange at the moment.

His partner gave him a questioning look and his eyes never once betrayed his thoughts as he said, "In a moment," to his partner. Looking back at Kiki, he stated, "Sorry, my friend is very impatient, don't mind him."

At this she started laughing uncontrollably, whispering, "Sorry!" between giggles. Her eyes were brimming with laughter and she walked over to a tree and rested her back against it, feeling its calming nature calm her mind. She barely noticed when she had to place magical barriers around her mind as she felt a mind try to look at her mind.

Opening her eyes, she noticed that the red eyed stranger was in front of her again. She smirked slightly and asked, "Have you two eaten yet?" while mind speaking to Kakashi, _I've hit a little delay, I'll be there soon hopefully! _

_Why? What's going on? _Kakashi replied.

_Nothing, I'm fine. I'll call you if I need any help though. _

_Alright, don't do anything stupid though! _

_If you could see my face, I would roll my eyes at you. _

The connection between their minds was severed, and she waited for the reply. What she got as a reply was a brief no. She smirked and took the pot full of sliced vegetables and meat over to the edge of the river. Sitting the pot down on the shore, Kiki waterbent the water into the pot, then she picked the pot up and carried it back to the clearing. She sat the pot in the clearing and asked the tree for some of its wood. It obliged, and she placed the given wood into a pile.

As Kiki glanced at the wood briefly, the wood erupted in flames. Smiling, Kiki made the pot hover above the flames, quickly boiling the soup. She placed the soup into two bowls (she's going to eat later) as the guys came back from wherever they had gone.

(If you haven't guessed by now, the two guys are Itachi and Kisame. I think the part where it said "his **red eyes **stared at her")

She walked over to the tree again and propped herself against it, wanting to test the limits of her powers once again. Opening her eyes, she found the red eyed one stooped down to her level, staring into her eyes. His eyes slowly faded from a bright red to a blue that was almost black. She looked at him warmly, noticing that she was feeling a blush coming on. _Dern those hormones! One guy and I'm a blushapalooza! _Kiki noticed that he was still staring into his eyes, and looked him straight in the eye as well. After a few seconds, they were still in the stare-off, and she decided to ask, "Are you from around here?"

Kiki noticed his body stiffen, and she looked at him nervously, confusion in her eyes. His body relaxed again, and he replied, "I am, but my friend is not. What about you?"

"It depends on how you define 'around here,' because I wasn't born here, but I live near here now. So, I guess it's all based on your own opinions,"

_Okay, I really want to change the chapter, so I'm sorry if it's a bit sudden when I end this… what happens next might just disgust you though, depending on what kind of person you are! Anyway, please review! I love to hear your wonderful opinions!! _


	6. A Strange Encounter

Chapter Six

_Okay, I'm going to skip ahead a little, to when she's leaving! Oh, disclaimer, I don't own the Naruto characters, just Kiki and the deadies! I hope you enjoy this segment!! And don't worry, she is old enough for the person she goes on a date with!!! (My way of foreshadowing)_

When Kiki stood up to leave three minutes later, Itachi whispered something in her ear that was inaudible to Kisame, who wondered what he was saying. (She still doesn't know who they are) She nodded and she took off through the trees, pot in hand. Smiling, she touched down in the cave behind the waterfall. Sitting the pot down, Kiki took out three bowls (her pockets store WAY more than you think they would- another advantage of magic) and she passed the now filled bowls to Jiraiya and Kakashi.

A few minutes later, Jiraiya and Kakashi had downed about five bowls each, (it's a new record) while Kiki had only eaten one. Apparently, they knew something was troubling her. Kakashi gave her a questioning glance, but her eyes were blank and unseeing.

_Jiraiya, I think she's testing the new extent of her magic. She told me earlier that it had doubled in strength._

_That would explain why she's acting so spacey… let's let her relax for a bit before it's time for her afternoon training._

_I agree, we'll clean everything up and return to the village before calling to her, otherwise she'll kill us for breaking her conversation. Understood?_

_Why wouldn't I understand?_

Nodding, they both cleaned the bowls and stacked them before cleaning the pot. Placing those things in a bag, they set out towards Konoha once more, making sure that they were far enough away not to be killed by Kiki, but close enough to sense her emotions and thoughts. (She had planted a small seed of magic into the roots of their chakra, and it had been growing ever since… don't you dare think of that in a perverted way Cucumber!!!! Or you Carrot!! - two of my friends that read the story…)

_Kiki, you should probably start your training now, so that you can make it home before it rains. _

_I know, Kakashi. Today, however, I have even more of a prophetic reason to stay during the rain. I may be able to save a life today, since one life may otherwise be snuffed out when it rains._

_Just be careful Kiki, _Jiraiya chipped in.

_Don't you start worrying about me too Jiraiya!!!! I don't need any more harassment from you today!!!_ At this, Kiki closed off the magical connection allowing them to talk. All they could do now was hear her emotions. One emotion that they couldn't comprehend which was running through her mind: love.

Kiki opened her eyes, her mind fully stretched from its dive into her magic. The red eyed stranger was stooped in front of her again. His eyes were still their normal blackish blue, but they were filled with a questioning look. She returned the questioning look, and was startled to see more than just his eyes.

She remembered back to the woods, where his eyes had been red. _Why did his eyes look so similar to those that have the sharingan? _Blinking her eyes, she returned to reality. The red eyed stranger was gone, and she looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. When she didn't see him, she wondered where she was. There were dark clouds above her head and a shrill cry pierced the air.

Following instinct, she raced toward the shriek, hoping that she wouldn't be too late. When she reached the clearing, she found herself there, trying to heal the dying dragon, but having no effect on the wound. Then her cry, "SUNCRY!!!!" pierced the air as the thunder added its sorrow to the air. Rain rushed from the clouds, drenching the girl and the dead dragon as Kiki's mind was pulled away, back to the cave.

Her eyes became normal, and she stared into the dark blue eyes once again. Looking away, she cast a glance at the sky outside. _The clouds are ominous, and the rain is about to fall. I should make my way to that place now, so that Suncry stays with us. If not, her dragon kit won't survive. I just hope I'm not too late._

Looking back into the blue eyes, she stated, "I'm sorry, but I have some urgent business to attend to. I'm sorry!" With that, she rushed off, racing through the trees, headed for the clearing where Suncry would be. She checked the clouds, and ran faster, seeing the ominous darkness of the oncoming rain. She barely noticed the person tracking her, seeing as how much focus was on saving Suncry.

When she reached the clearing, she saw the dying dragon and immediately set to action. _If I can just beat my prophetic vision, I can save two dragons tonight instead of losing one. I just need to hurry._

She placed her hands on Suncry's open wound, and applied her healing magic strongly, to make sure that Suncry would be healed.

_Flame-sister, its no use… _Suncry's voice, laden with pain, mind-spoke, _by the time you heal me, my spirit will already be entering the depths of our dead's domain. Do not worry, daughter of the mother flame and the father universe, the Firebending Goddess and Dragon Mistress. (Okay, if I didn't explain, Tortall's characters are polytheistic… and she's the daughter of the people who they think created their world… I don't do polytheism though…blame Tamora Pierce and not me!!) Just make sure that my kit gets to Diamondflame! _With her dying breath, Suncry let out a wail of agony. Kiki, still trying to heal her, watched as Suncry's head fell to the ground.

"SUNCRY!!!!" she yelled, hoping to keep Suncry attached to that realm, before she realized that she was in charge of taking care of the dragon's kit. The rain started to fall as she gazed upon her hands, drenched in the blood of Suncry. _Why does this day always bring death and destruction?! _Kiki cried to the human that was closest to her physical body.

_Because that is all that it knows, _replied Itachi jumping down from the tree to kneel beside the dragon and pay his respects. He then looked at her and stated, "Suncry didn't say those words to your hearing alone, Kiki. I was able to hear them as well. Perhaps now is the time to find the dragonling and make sure that it stays alive."

She looked at him, her eyes so wet with unshed tears that she could barely see him. She looked away before closing her eyes and letting the tears flow, not wanting to show any weakness. A strong hand gripped her jaw, and she opened her eyes to meet the gaze of the red eyed shadow. His eyes, finally showing emotion, filled with compassion (Okay, so that you don't have to it, it means to show sympathy and sorrow for another, which is very strange for Itachi…but this story is all full of surprises. Expect the unexpected!)


	7. A Dragon's Blessing

Chapter Seven

_I always come across at least one chapter that I enjoy writing, but all of the chapters I have written with much anticipation of the story that is unfolding in my hands. I only own Kiki, but that is enough, I feel, to make the story my own. Enjoy please!!!_

Kiki looked back at Suncry, and rested her hand on Suncry's lifeless form. Closing her eyes, she sent an electric charge through the dragon's body, causing it to burst into flames despite the rain. Her freed soul, no longer held by her form, brought the fire around herself to appear as though she had a form.

_Flame sister, I will not forget you, so long as you do not forget me. As my final act in this world, I give you my blessing and allow you to wear my form when you choose to remember me. When you fly in that form, my spirit will be with you, and my spirit will forever be in the deepest reaches of yours._

_Flame brother, you too have my blessing and part of my soul. Remember me, though you knew me not, and I shall be your eyes when yours are rendered helpless. Do not fear returning to your home, but fear those you do not know, for they will become your truest enemies in the time that follows this. Embrace your fire within yourself, and follow your heart's beliefs._

Kiki and Itachi nodded their understanding to Suncry, her flames lighting the whole clearing in magnificence. Kiki looked at Suncry, the dragon she had first summoned, and she closed her eyes, remembering the dragon. Opening her eyes, she felt the warmth of the flames brush her nose.

_I told you that my spirit will rest with you, and now I must go to the place I belong. I am certain that you will not forget me, because my spirit is forever intertwined with yours. You will see how much so later, but later is meant for later. Good bye for now, flame sister._

Suncry let out one last, blood-curdling battle cry, and then her spirit flew into Kiki, merging with the inner reaches of Kiki's soul as Suncry had said that she would. In that moment, Kiki saw every Dragon that had lived, and whose life had yet to come. Then the fire surrounding all of the forms was snuffed out. Kiki was thrown into the dark pits of unconsciousness, her spirit merging with that of Suncry.

Itachi noticed Kiki's eyes close, and he caught her when she fell, knowing what turmoil her soul would be in for the next few hours, merging with the soul of the dragon Suncry. He tapped into her mind and into Suncry's memories, accessing the one that showed him where the dragon kit was.

"So, Itachi, are you trying to kill again?!" a voice asked as a kunai was placed against Itachi's throat.

"On the other hand Kakashi; tonight I am ready to save a life rather than to take one. So, if you don't mind, I'll be leaving now."

"I'm not letting you go anywhere, especially when you're going to take Kiki with you. Forget trying to run away, it's impossible for you to do now."

"You would think that, Kakashi, but I have my ways…" and with that, both Itachi and Kiki were gone. Kakashi cursed, unable to know what Itachi would do once he found out everything about her, let alone when he found out that she was a NINJA FROM KONOHA.

Landing in the cave, Itachi placed a limp Kiki against the wall of the cave. He walked over to the kit, which was curled up in a tiny, tight ball, whimpering in the corner. He saw her and stretched his hand out to her, motioning her to come away from the wall. Whimpering even louder, she backed herself into the corner.

Kiki, who had surprisingly awoken, walked over and knelt down beside him. Her eyes were nearly blue in the cave as she lit a small fire in the palm of her hand and handed it to the dragon kit. Looking interested, the kit wandered over to peer at the flames. Suddenly, her mouth opened and she swallowed the flames.

"Well, Kiki, it seems as though you were speaking the truth. This kit has been blessed, but she still doesn't have a name. As dragon mistress, and the one who houses her mother's soul, you must name her." Diamondflame spoke as he entered the cave.

(Because Diamondflame is so old, he doesn't need to use mind speech.) "Why don't we name her Sunstorm, to remember what she lost today?"

"That is a wonderful name, Kiki. But why did you choose Sunstorm?"

"Sun to remember her mother, and storm represents the storm outside."

"Very well, but you must complete the ceremony, along with Suncry."

Kiki and Suncry, their minds as one, cried, "SO MOTE IT BE!" before Suncry became dormant once more, resting in the glow of Kiki's spirit. Kiki opened her eyes, and found the kit looking into her eyes.

"Erif erom yna evah uoy od?" (Read it backwards) the kit asked, speaking in dragon-tongue.

Kiki smiled and lit the expanse of her palm with condensed fire. Sunstorm consumed the flames, and then curled up into a ball on the cave floor. Diamondflame looked at the kit, which was in deep slumber, and stated softly, "I will take her to be cared for by Suncry's sister, Mooncry, whose kit died in labor. She will be as good of a mother as Suncry would have been."

Diamondflame and Sunstorm left, vanishing, before Kiki sat back against the wall of the cave. When she opened her eyes, Itachi was looking at her again. His eyes, nearly hypnotic (they looked kind of like this: .), caused her to fall asleep, her energy spent for the remainder of the day. Picking her up, Itachi jumped out of the cave, and raced to where Kisame was waiting for him to arrive.

_Sorry if you felt that this chapter was a bit short, but this felt like a great place to end the chapter. I know, cliffhangers rock, don't they?! Please review, and I can tell you that I'll have more chapters added soon!!!_


	8. Unwanted Truth

Chapter Eight

_Woohoo!!!! Disclaimer!!!! I only own Kiki, Xherus, and what's-her-face…Lady of Nightfog… I own none of the other characters!!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!!!_

_Why does my head feel as though it's placed against someone's… oh don't tell me… _Kiki's eyes flew open, and she looked at Itachi, who was racing along through the trees. Feeling her gaze, he looked down at her. His eyes were the red color again, and his expression was hard to look at. She didn't recognize the particular group of trees, but she realized that they were nearing the heart of the forest.

Suddenly, he landed on the ground and out of the shadows came his partner. _Okay, now I'm confused. What in the name of Mother Flame is going on?! _

"We should go now Itachi, while they are incapable of finding us."

_THIS IS ITACHI?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!_

Kiki looked up at Itachi, who was glaring at Kisame, who was staring at Kiki. Itachi looked down at Kiki then, his eyes still looking like the red-eyed shadow's. She looked over to Kisame, who was still staring at her, and realized that she was still in Itachi's arms. When she tried to move her legs, lightning sharp pain burst through her legs. She winced, and his eyes changed to a look of concern.

Placing her on the ground, he motioned to Kisame to stand behind her, just in case she tried to make a run for it. Her eyes filled with pain, she placed her hands against her leg, closing her eyes. Instantly, her eyes flew open, wide with shock.

Looking at Itachi, she stated, "My bones are changing, they're not broken. They're becoming hollow, like the bones of a bird…"

"Or a dragon," he replied, finishing her sentence. She nodded, and then she decided to stand up. Tucking her legs beneath her, she raised herself to her feet, biting back the pain in the legs from the transition to a hollow bone structure. As she stood up, however, her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground again. Biting back a scream of pain, Kiki stood up again, but again fell back to the ground.

"Itachi, we should get going now." Kisame stated impatiently after Kiki's fifth attempt.

"I agree Kisame," was Itachi's reply as he stooped down and picked her up once again. Looking at Kiki, he said bluntly, "You're bones have changed, you're a heck of a lot lighter than before."

"Well excuse me for being so heavy, next time, I'll walk on my own!!! Oh, wait, I CAN'T EVEN STAND UP!!!" she shouted back before he whispered a brief "sorry" in her ear. He and Kisame raced through the forest, stopping after a few minutes for a quick break. Itachi placed Kiki on the tree branch and opened up the top of his jacket to cool himself down.

Kiki used her waterbending to gather water from the stream, and split it into three parts, passing two to Kisame and Itachi. Cupping hers in her hands, she drank the water and finished it off. They followed her, and she rested her head against the tree, using its calmness to calm her fraying nerves.

She felt hands lift her up, and opened her eyes to see Itachi holding her again, but his jacket was still open. She placed her head against his chest, and he took off, Kisame following, until they were at the heart of the forest. The trees looming ominously above, they walked over to one of the trees and jumped onto one of the larger branches.

Using a mix of earthbending and waterbending, Kiki created a little platform between two branches before testing her luck at standing again. Her legs were able to withstand her new, lighter weight, and she made a roof-like canopy over the platform and pulled a cloud down from the sky to use as a mattress and a blanket.

Itachi and Kisame came back from wherever they had been to find Kiki sitting on a cloud, meditating. When they stepped onto the platform, she opened her eyes and looked at them. Her eyes were cold and tired, but she managed to stand up and walk to them. Looking at Itachi, she met his gaze. _He is sweet, but if he's the enemy, then, I don't know what I'm going to do! _

Turning to look at Kisame, she noticed that he was holding something out to her. Glancing at it, she noticed that the belt that held both of her swords was placed in her grasp by Itachi's hands.

"Thank you for taking care of them for me." She stated softly.

"Thank you for looking after Itachi and me, even if you didn't know who we were," was his short reply.

Kiki looked at Itachi, but they didn't need to say words to understand what they were both thinking. Kiki turned and walked back over to the place where she had meditated, instead laying down on the cloud and closing her eyes. Opening them again, she sat up and gazed at her swords.

Unsheathing Moonstorm, the furious, she looked at the blade's edge. Running her finger across the blade, she tested the blade's sharpness. Fresh blood welled up along the path where the blade had traveled, so she resheathed Moonstorm. Unsheathing Rainflight, the healer, she checked that blade as well. Satisfied with the results of that blade as well, she resheathed the blade and healed her fingers. Placing her swords beside her, Kiki pulled her blanket over her body. She noticed a presence near her head, and felt a hand touch her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she gazed at Itachi, before closing her eyes again.

"_She ran, her breath coming in shallow gasps, her lungs burning, her legs ready to give way. Nearly free of her torturer's clutches she tripped, landing near a man's feet. George Cooper stared at her as the man came up. He yelled at her, holding his hand up to slap her. Before he could, he found himself on the ground, held there by his King, the King of Thieves._

'_Ye'll nay harm any lass, let alone one this young,' George stated as a knight walked over and grabbed the man. The man met the full wrath of the Lord Provost, the child meeting the Prince of Tortall. When she met the Queen, Leanne burst into tears over the daughter she had lost three years prior. The Princess had returned."_

Kiki woke up, sitting up directly. She had only been asleep for a few hours, and she held her head in her hands. _Why did I have to remember that nightmare? I never wanted to relive that part of my life ever again, and I'm still haunted by that memory._

A hand rested on her shoulder, and she found her head pulled over to a comforting figure. She buried her face in Itachi's chest, hoping for the memory to fade from her vision. A gentle hand started stroking her hair, adding more comfort to the new, peaceful mood. Fingers pushed her chin upward, and her eyes locked with his. Suddenly, he leaned closer, and they kissed briefly. (This seemed to surprise them both, and somehow, when I'm tired, I write mushy crap!)

She rested her head against Itachi's chest again, and her eyes fluttered closed. He lowered his chest back down onto whatever you wanna call it, and Kiki's head was rested against him until her next nightmare woke her up. Then she went over to her swords again and gripped the jewel in the Hilt of Moonstorm, the furious. The gem soothed her, and for the first time that night, Kiki got a peaceful sleep.

_I know, I know… I don't know if the mushy part was necessary, but like I said, when I'm tired, I write mushy stuff!! Review please, I love to hear your opinions!!!!_


	9. It Begins Again!

Chapter Nine

_Disclaimer!!!! WOOHOO!!!! Kiki is my only living character! I own nobody else!!!_

Later in the night, she woke up from yet another nightmare, to hear somebody murmuring. She realized that something was wrapped around her, and turned to see Itachi sleep murmuring near her ear. Before she could move his arm from her waist, his arm closed tighter, pulling her closer to him. _Why me?! _Kiki thought, placing her knuckle between the two bones in Itachi's hand. He yelped in pain and his eyes flew open to see Kiki right in front of him.

_Could you please let go of me Itachi?! This position isn't that comfortable…_

_Oh! Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, besides that in my dream, there were people dancing… so…many…dancers!!!!_ He shuddered as he released Kiki, who was now laughing hysterically. She stood up and walked back over to her swords.

"Only three hours until dawn…" she yawned, closing her eyes and immediately falling into unconsciousness.

When she woke up, Itachi and Kisame were racing through the trees, she was now being held by Kisame as Itachi patrolled ahead. Kisame caught up to Itachi, who noticed that Kiki was awake. They stopped, and Kisame placed Kiki on the tree branch before stretching his back. She yawned, and in a split second, she vanished.

"Crap! Itachi, she ran for it."

"Of course! Stupid ingrate!"

Suddenly, the bush moved and Kiki walked into the area beneath the tree, yawning and stretching.

"What the heck?? I thought she ran away!!" Itachi jumped down to Kiki and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What was that?!"

"What, did you want me to pee my pants you moron?! I REALLY had to go… sorry for the scare!"

Itachi just rolled his eyes and jumped back into the tree. She looked at him, wondering, _what got his temper tied in a knot today?! _Jumping into the tree, she noticed the age of the trees. Placing her hand on one of the trees, she let her mind become connected with it. Overwhelming tree thoughts entered her mind, and she broke the connection before jumping into a bush and vomiting. _Note to self: be prepared for the thoughts next time!!!_

As she was vomiting, Itachi looked at Kisame with a strange look. Kisame looked back, before they looked at the bush once more. They watched as she stepped out of the bush, her face clean and her eyes filled with bewilderment.

"What?" Kiki asked. Their faces, just as bewildered as hers, left her puzzling. _Since this is Itachi, I should leave before he discovers that I'm a Konoha ninja._

"Nothing, are you alright?" Itachi asked.

She froze in shock, nearly gasping at his kindness. He noticed the surprise in her eyes, and his own glimmered with laughter. Walking over, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes as they changed from bright red to a nearly black blue.

Placing his mouth near her ear so that Kisame could neither hear him nor read his lips, he stated "Why does my concern surprise you?"

To make sure Kisame wouldn't know what he was saying, Kiki mind-spoke, _The fact that you nearly destroyed your clan made it hard for me to believe that you could show concern for another person._

Now it was Itachi's turn to be surprised. Using the chance given, she jumped over his shoulders and flew through the clearing towards the smell of water picked up by her sensitive nose. She felt their presences behind her, so she doubled her pace.

Reaching the water, she quickly glided along the glassy surface, her legs working at a steady pace, heading for the waterfall and the open air behind it. Her wings materialized at her back, itching to warm up in the morning air. Kiki spun around, the water spiraling upward around her feet.

Her eyes began taking on the look of a dragon, and her canine teeth enlarged, her fangs resembling those of a dragon or those of a wolf. Kisame's water dragon charged toward her, roaring. She extended her hand, and when her finger glanced off of the dragon, it froze completely.

Quickly she threw her hands above her head and jumped ten feet into the air. Bringing her hands before her, the wave flew at the two men following her. Suddenly, she was grabbed into the arms of a man who had jumped toward her, unnoticed, from the side.


	10. An Unexpected Visit

Chapter Ten

_This story is no longer just for Naruto characters. Random characters from other shows will be popping up, and the only ones that are mine are Kiki and the dead people._

When he landed, silver hair brushed her face before a blast of flames came flying toward them. She blocked it with her mind, causing her eyes to glow quickly. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her chin and forced her to gaze directly at Sesshomaru. (for easier reference, he shall be called Sessho!!!)

She laughed as he released her and she stood beside him. Reaching into one of her belt pouches, she took her necklace with her divine symbol and placed it around her neck. Its power flew forth for a split second before it became dormant once more.

_You take Kisame, but watch his sword. It's more like a razor than a blade, _Kiki mind-spoke to Sessho. _I'm going after Itachi!_

_Just don't kill yourself. I'll help you then if you need it. _When she laughed, he knew that she wasn't going to take him seriously, so he launched at Kisame, his claws dripping poison. Kisame blocked, but the poison tore at his flesh, leaving burns on his arms.

Kiki and Itachi stood facing each other, her reptilian eyes staring into his bright red eyes. She gripped the hilts of her swords, and in a blinding flash, Suncry erupted from within her. Her flaming spirit landed beside Kiki as the swords were removed from the sheaths. Kiki's eyes were slightly blue, her hair floating in the air.

"Kiki, since my spirit is within you, your dragonstorm is now more powerful. I believe Diamondflame showed you the basics, but now it is complete. Try it out," commented Suncry joyfully. She knew the effects of the newly perfected storm.

Smirking, Kiki brought the blades to the beginning positions. Sessho released the unconscious Kisame from his grasp and stood beside the dragon spirit. The blades took on a new feel, becoming heated in her hands. Suncry's tail was between Sessho and the blades to protect him from the attack.

Kiki twisted the blades around her, a spiral forming in her mind's eye. The flames grew taller as she spun faster still. Coming to a halt, she joined the blades, making one blade, longer and more powerful. Taking the blade through a sweeping arc, she sent the spiral towards Itachi, the blade transforming the spiral into many dragons spiraling together.

The force of the impact sent Itachi flying backwards, landing next to Kisame. She was wondering whether or not to tie them up when Kakashi and his team came into the clearing. Sasuke looked from Itachi to Kiki, who was sheathing the blades. He looked back at Itachi, and his left eye started twitching ferociously. Kiki smiled weakly before Suncry wrapped her spirit around her.

Suddenly, Kiki collapsed inside of the spirit, engulfed by the tremendous power. Her arms were changing, and she was holding them in her hands, the pain from using her swords catching up to her.

"Why didn't you tell me about this little pleasure trip?" she croaked at Suncry, barely able to keep the pain from her voice.

"I forgot about that side effect. Now then, I'm off to see my daughter and my sister. I'll be back inside you later."

Kiki grimaced as Suncry disappeared before Kakashi walked over and grabbed one of her arms. She yelped as he examined the arm, and he looked at her puzzlingly.

"My bone structure is changing to that of a dragon since I am now harboring the spirit of one. Wait, when did you guys get here?!"

He laughed as Sessho came over to examine the other arm. Sessho prodded it and she bit her lip to prevent from crying out again. "I would love it if you would stop that, it hurts!"

They looked at her before Sessho hugged her, stood up, and left to return to his world. She stood up, stretched, and asked Kakashi what he was going to do.

"We take them in, of course. I'll grab Kisame."

"I'll take Itachi then," Sasuke suggested.

"Sorry Sasu, but I'll take him. I don't trust him enough to let you carry him, especially after what he did to you. His gaze does not affect me, so therefore, I'm the safest escort back to Konoha that we have here." she stated, picking up Itachi, "Everybody, let's move out!"

She raced through the trees, ignoring the protest of her arms until they lost the pain altogether. _Well that's good news, _she thought, racing toward the wall that held Konoha. Kakashi flew over the wall, quickly followed by Kiki, who was flanked by the three genin. They dashed through the maze of streets and stopped when they found Tsunade, accompanied by Jiraiya. Their eyes flew wide with shock as they saw who Kiki and Kakashi were holding.

"Well call me a baby and slap me twice- I didn't mean that literally!!!!!" he yelled at Naruto, who was laughing his guts out with Sasuke.

Itachi stirred, and Kiki tightened her grip as he opened his eyes to glare at her. Her eyes, still reptilian, narrowed to small slits as he looked at her. His hand grabbed her wrist and, moving a fraction of an inch higher, clasped around her arm bones. The morphing bones screamed in pain as he applied pressure, and her eyes were filled with that pain.

She turned her arm into an inferno, and muttered, "Sleep," with a magical force behind it. Itachi's eyes closed, and he fell into a haunting slumber, his grip loosening and his hand falling again. She sighed, and gave Itachi to Jiraiya before resting against the wall. Sasuke walked over to his brother and glared at his sleeping form. Kakashi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder before Sasuke walked away from his brother.

"So, you got him did you?" Tsunade cooed.

"Yeah, and I got turned into a dragon as a bargain."

"Oh?" she took one of Kiki's arms and looked at the bone structure. She glanced up at Kiki, "Strange. Why don't you go to Sessho's world and ask him about it?"

"Okay, I'll be back later this week then. I'll see you all later!!"

Kakashi passed Kisame to Jiraiya and Kiki hugged everyone goodbye in turn, until she got to Jiraiya. To him she just said, "Good bye." Smiling, she disappeared, heading to the world where Sessho resided.


	11. Disagreeing Brothers

Chapter Eleven

_Okay, disclaimer…My only characters are Kiki and the dead people. I hope you enjoy the next chapter of my newest release!_

She raced through the trees, following Sessho's scent through the maze. At a clearing, she jumped from the tree and unfurled her wings. Catching the breeze, she flew near the water, maintaining the trail. Suddenly, she glimpsed a flash of silver in her peripheral vision. Turning, she pulled in her wings and followed the glimpse of silver.

She ran after the fleeing image, when suddenly, she lost sight of it. Her nose picked up a scent from behind her, and she whirled around as the person behind her grabbed her. She viewed a flash of silver before the pain from her arms made everything become red.

"Why were you following me?" he asked. His grip loosened when her lip started bleeding.

Before she could say anything, her necklace reacted to the divine blood of her friend. (Remember, Tortall is polytheistic!) Her eyes became blank, and she passed out. He placed her against a tree trunk before passing out himself.

He woke up to see a woman with fire for hair standing beside him. She knelt down and handed him a gem that matched the one around her neck, and stated, "When the time is right, I will reveal my human self to you. Stay safe."

He woke up once again to see the girl sleeping against the tree, the gem still gripped in his hand. Feeling his gaze on her, she opened her eyes and gazed at him. She put her hand in front of herself quickly as a blast of fire came toward her. She stood up and blew flames from her mouth before hurling at her attacker

He grabbed her and kicked her into a tree before lunging at her, sword drawn. Before he could reach her, his sword went through the silver haired man. He pulled his sword out, but was cut down by Kiki's swords before he could strike once more. She dropped to her knees and placed her hands on his chest to heal him.

"Don't you dare die on me, you idiot!" she told him as she healed his wounds. He looked at her as she finished healing him before she grabbed him and ran towards the running water. On her way there, he passed out and his friends caught sight of them.

The girl came running over to grab him as she placed water at his mouth. She willed him to drink, for it would clean the blood of infections. The girl looked at the blood on her hands, and the blood on his chest, before kneeling beside him and yelling for her to leave.

"Haven't you already done enough?!" she cried, pushing Kiki away, hitting Kiki's arm and making her bite her lip again. The girl's eyes were worried, and Kiki doubted that she would stop the brutal assault to her arms.

"Very well; but tell him that the Firebender is waiting for him at the waterfall. I will meet him there than, and don't worry, I already healed the wound." She commented as she took off downstream to sit below the waterfall and finish the recreation of the last two bones to morph, her shoulders.

When he woke up, Kiki was gone and the girl was looking at him. The little fox was trying to keep her calmed down, but it wasn't working. (Okay, if you haven't guessed by now… it's Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo…for now at least…) She saw his eyes blink and hugged him, crying that she was so glad that he was alive (you know, the whole sap story). She let him sit up, gave him some ramen, and told him that the Firebender said that she would be waiting for him at the waterfall, but that she didn't want him to go because that girl had hurt him.

"You didn't just say that did you?" he asked.

"What do you mean? She was standing over you, her hands covered in your blood," Kagome replied.

Inu's (shorter name…sorry for any inconvenience) face had shock written all over it as he stated, "She didn't try to kill me, she saved my life. I risked my life to save her on instinct, reacting before I had any time to think. She destroyed the attacker, and then saved my life by healing my wound. I'll be back later."

Inu stood up and brushed his pants off before walking to the stream.

"SIT!" she yelled, but it had no effect (somehow… the whole divine power effect blocked it with sheer power!!) and she gaped at him as he glared at her before he turned and left. He walked down to the waterfall and saw Kiki napping in the water. She opened one eye as she felt his presence near her and nearly jumped. Sitting up, she looked at him and smiled, noticing that his clothes were also repaired thanks to her magic.

"Firebender, huh? That's a funny name, no offense or anything." He stated bluntly.

She laughed and replied, "It's only a nickname, but I'm widely known as that. It's not something that is spoken freely at my home, and most people don't know the true identity of the Firebender. They only know her as the girl who has fire for hair, the human form of the Firebending Goddess. It's something that I only trust a few people to know."

He raised his eyebrows, and asked, "Well if that's your nickname, what's your actual name?"

She smiled, revealing white teeth and large canines, similar to his. She yawned, and replied, "If you must know…just kidding!" she said as he looked at her with raised eyebrows, "My actual name is Kiki, and I'm more known for that name, thankfully. I would hate it if more people looked at me as though I had the plague."

"I'm Inuyasha," he stated.

"That's WAY too long for my tastes! Do you mind if I call you Inu?"

"Go right ahead. But, can I ask you something?"

"What?" she asked, placing water around her sore shoulders before leaning back against the rock behind her. She looked at him quizzically before closing her eyes and awaiting the question.

"Why were you following me earlier today?" he asked, and she froze.

Speaking very softly, she replied, "I thought that you were someone else. I didn't mean to follow you, but I thought that someone else was messing with me."

"Can I ask who that person was? Or is it something that I shouldn't know?"

"I think she may have been looking for me, little brother." A familiar voice spoke.

"Sessho, when did you get here?" she asked.

"Sessho, is that your nickname? It fits you, Sesshomaru." Inu mocked.

"Shut up Inu! What do you know?!" he replied angrily, walking over to Kiki to inspect her shoulders. He prodded one shoulder again, and she nearly screamed in pain. Looking at her face, twisted with pain, he asked, "Your bones nearly done changing?"

"Yep, these are the last two, but they hurt the most, and they'll be sore for the rest of the week as they grow invisible wings."

He nodded, and looked at Inu. Walking close to his brother, he whispered, "Keep her safe, or I'll skin you!" into Inu's ear before walking away.

"I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, THANK YOU!" she shouted at his back.

He turned and looked at her, his eyes stern as he stated, "Prove it."

Kiki's eyes narrowed to slits as he left, and she nearly jumped ten feet into the air when Inu placed a hand on her shoulder. She yelped in pain, and he quickly removed the hand, remembering that they caused her pain at the moment. Her eyes suddenly became vacant, the pupils all but disappearing as she saw a vision of the past. Her Eyes closed, and she fell toward the ground, her knees buckling.

_I hope that you enjoyed this chapter of the K&S Konoha Edition. I said that I was going to add characters from other stories into this one, and I kept my word. Oh, and for my Iruka fan, I'll see what I can do to add him in somewhere along the lines in this story, seeing as I'm going to be jumping from place to place._


	12. Truth Be Told

Chapter Twelve

_After a while, disclaimers become BORING!!!! But we need to do them anyway, now don't we? I only own Kiki and her dead relatives, for now. I wish I owned everyone else in this story!_

Her eyes slid open slowly, the blur of green and silver clearing to reveal Inu, Kagome, and Shippo leaning over her, worried looks on their faces. She blinked and sat up, her shoulders screaming. In the shadows, she felt Sessho's presence and looked at the spot that it was resonating from. Inu caught her glance and looked that way as Sessho appeared from the shadows. He walked over and knelt beside Kiki, who looked at him and yawned.

Suddenly, she felt something in the shadows headed towards them. She unsheathed her swords and blocked the blow aimed at Inu's head before anybody knew what had happened. Sessho smirked as Kiki chopped forward with the blades, the adrenaline making her forget the pain in her arms. She sliced the attacker in half, and a wooden doll fell onto the ground, sliced by the blades.

"Timmad!!!" Kiki shouted in dragontongue.

"Hey now, watch your language Dragonstorm," scolded Suncry, turning slightly red. Kiki's eye twitched, and she sheathed the swords. She rubbed her shoulders, willing the pain to stay away from her, knowing that idea to be impossible. Yawning, she sat down against a tree and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander. Sessho walked over to her and she opened one eye to look at him, her eyes giving away no emotions, his showing laughter. He knelt down next to her and ruffled her hair. Inu just stared at the act of affection, and Kiki gave Sessho her best PMS look.

"You know what I'm going to ask you, so could you tell me please?" she asked. Her eyes were slightly reptilian, and Inu looked at her, mulling some idea in his head over. She glanced at him, her gaze meeting his, and she smiled.

"If you want to know about your bones, follow me," Sessho stated, standing up. Kiki followed him, and Inu was right behind her. She looked back at him, surprise in her face.

"If you think that I'll let the two of you alone, forget about it."

She laughed, knowing that what he said was true. She walked next to Sessho, her height equal to his, her aura masking his own. She rolled her shoulders, allowing wings to materialize and warm up in the sunlight. He walked, his hand on the hilt of his sword, watching the shadows, willing some fool to attack their party. Inu caught up to their stride, standing the same height as them, his aura equal to Kiki's in size. He held the hilt of his sword in hand, glimpsing at the other two as well as to the bushes.

Kiki's fists clenched, her eyes finding an enemy ready to strike. She moved in a split second, and as she caught the thing that was flying at Sessho, he brought his sword down and sliced the demon in half. The forest became quiet once more as the three walked on, disappearing into the depths of the forest.

They came to a great oak tree, and Sessho placed his hand on the trunk in an indent. The trunk opened up to a cave beneath the tree, and they walked down a flight of marble stairs. Below the stairs was a giant room lit by fire that erupted from Kiki's hand, fluttering around the room and lighting the walls. A piece of the wall was inscribed with an ancient writing, and as Kiki walked over to it, she recognized the writing as being that of the Dragons. She smiled and started reading the writing, keeping it inside of her head before turning back to the two when she had finished.

"It says that my bones changing will allow me to access their powers when I want to instead of when I need to. I wonder why Suncry never told me about this."

"I didn't remember about this, so that's why I didn't tell you," she whispered.

Kiki looked embarrassed, doing a mental head slap, and sat down on the cool floor, resting her shoulders against the soothing stone. Inu and Sessho sat down next to her, relaxing as she closed her eyes once more. Her eyes opened slowly, her arms stretching in front of her, moving her shoulders, and causing her to wince in pain. Two hands rested on her shoulders, relinquishing the pain.

"I have to go back to Konoha now, but I'll stop in from time to time.

"You aren't going anywhere until you get some more rest," Sessho stated sternly. She looked at him calmly, her eyes showing doubt in his trust in her. He rested his hand on her shoulder, and she sighed in surrender. Her eyes closed, and she fell into a peaceful sleep. Sessho scooped her up, and he and Inu left the cave, walking back to the clearing where Kagome and Shippo were waiting, talking to Miroku and Songo. Sessho rested Kiki against a tree, and he sat down in a branch of the tree. Inu jumped into a branch across the clearing from Sessho, watching his every move.

A few hours later, Kiki woke up and looked at Sessho, annoyed. She stood and jumped onto the branch that he was on, and stated, "That was unnecessary! You didn't have to make me pass out just to keep me here!"

Inu came over to the tree as Kiki whispered, "I'll be back later! I've already been here two days; I can't stay here any longer!" With that, she was gone.

_Let's go back to Konoha for a bit, but Konoha won't be the way we left it…anyway, review!!!!_


	13. Surprise, Surpirse!

Chapter Thirteen:

_Okay, disclaimer…I only own Kiki, the dead people, Suncry, Shade, and Luna, but I wish I owned the other characters!!!!_

Kiki returned to Konoha, her room covered in dust. _I wonder why there's so much dust, _she thought. She jumped out of her window, opened her wings, and grimaced in pain as her shoulders jerked upwards. Ignoring the pain, she flew to Tsunade's office and knocked on the window.

Tsunade turned, opened the window, and allowed Kiki to enter. As soon as Kiki's wings were pulled in and the window was closed, Tsunade shouted, "Why'd it take you two years to get that thing solved?!"

Kiki looked at her, confused. She calmly whispered, "In his world, it was only two days." Looking at Tsunade, she noticed the shock in her eyes. She shook her head and called for Shizune to bring Shade, Luna, and Neji to the room. Kiki raised her eyebrows, mouthing, _Neji?_

"While you were away… we assigned Neji to your particular group. As he was growing in power, we figured that he would advance to the next level with you when the four of you are ready. You are our elite group of shinobi, more powerful than the ANBU but, well, we aren't going to tell them that. We have a new mission, but the four of you will need to rest for the remainder of the day before you can leave."

Kiki yawned, her body and mind still tired, and Tsunade smiled. Waving her hand towards the window, she stated, "As soon as the other three are here, I will send you to rest. Neji will brief you on the mission this evening, but I will wait until they come in so that you can say hello to them before you leave. I'm counting on the four of you to be prepared, so…"

There was a knock on the door, and Shizune brought Shade, Luna, and Neji into the room. Iruka popped his head through the door as he walked by, and waved to Kiki, who waved back. Kiki smiled at them and they greeted her, their physical appearances different than they had been two years before. Kiki had been two years older than the three, but they were all the same age due to the two year time lapse. Kiki nodded to Tsunade, opened the window, and sat on the ledge.

"Didn't I tell you earlier to go when they arrived?" Tsunade asked. Kiki sighed, annoyed, and brought her feet up to the windowsill. She jumped off, closing the window, and took off towards her home. She fought to keep her eyes open as she crawled into her own window, wound around to her room, and dusted briefly with her magic. She threw off her shoes and belt, and collapsed onto her bed, falling to sleep instantly.

When she woke up, Kiki walked over to her bathroom and stepped into the shower, her hair washing itself while she scrubbed at the dirt accumulated on her body. _Finally, running water! _Kiki mused as she stepped out of the shower; air dried herself, and wrapped a towel around her body. She silently stepped into her room and noticed someone sitting in the window.

Her eyes flew wide with shock and she shot into her closet, shouting, "You could knock, you know! Or better yet, you could wait in the living room!" The door to her closet opened, and she came out of the closet wearing Black pants that stopped at her knees and a traditional sleeveless, purple Chinese top with silver edges. Around her left arm above her elbow rested the silver living metal dragon armband and on her neck was, as usual, her teardrop pendant, the link to her other half (you know, the one with the flaming hair…).

"So what's the mission about?" she asked him as she tied her hair up in a silver ribbon. She walked over to the door, opened it, and motioned for him to follow. Doing a quick annihilation of dust with her magic, she led him to the kitchen and he sat down at the table. "You hungry?" she asked, and when he nodded slightly, she started a fire on the stove, took some noodles from the pantry which she had restocked upon her return (making things materialize is AWESOME!!), and placed them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes.

Walking over to the table, she snapped her fingers, lighting the surrounding candles. The room came to life, and she lifted a tea kettle, pored water from the reservoir into it with her bending, and heated the water with firebending as she added the teabags. Kiki sat the kettle on the table, looked at the boiling noodles, and dumped some ingredients in, making the room smell of chicken. Taking two cups over to the table, she asked, "So what's happened since I left?"

"Well, a lot has happened since then," he replied as she started to pour the tea, "For instance, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru…" he stopped as she dropped the tea kettle, and stared at him, horrified. She resumed her composure, and the tea kettle rose up to her hands, stopped by her magic before it hit the floor. He continued, "Naruto has been chased after by the Akatsuki, specifically Itachi and Kisame. He left to go training with Jiraiya two years ago, and we expect him back in another half year," he sighed, and continued, "Sakura is being trained by Tsunade herself, and we've been well, doing next to nothing mission wise. Our mission is to rescue Tonton from Orochimaru, which should be fun…not," he sighed, sinking towards the table, his head resting on top of his arms.

Kiki walked over, brought the pot of soup to the table, and set out four bowls. When Neji raised his eyebrows, she motioned to the door, where a knock emanated from a moment later. She opened the door, allowing Shade and Shikamaru to enter. She frowned and looked through the bushes to see if she could find Luna anywhere. When she turned back, Shade had taken two more bowls from the cupboard and placed them on the table. Kiki raised her eyebrows.

"What? Luna and Lee are coming over, and I thought it would allow all three of these couples to chat."

Kiki's right eye twitched, and her voice was ten octaves higher as she shrieked, "What?!" She looked at Neji, who was holding his head in his hand, his face red from embarrassment. He looked at her, and his eyes were pleading, asking, _Could you just kill me now?? _

"Will you excuse us for a second?" Neji asked, dragging Kiki into the side hallway. He looked at her, his face full of embarrassment, and stated, "I was going to ask, but they sort of beat me to it…"

"Well then, consider yourself accepted. Welcome to the weirdness!" she replied, handing him a teardrop amethyst rimmed with black opal, which resembled hers. His left eyebrow raised, and she waved her hand in a gesture that said, _I'll tell you later. _She hugged him, and they walked back into the room.

Shade looked at the amethyst in Neji's hand, smiled, and elbowed Shikamaru, who smiled too. Luna walked into the door with Lee, and they all sat down to eat. Kiki sat between Neji and Shade, Luna sitting between Shikamaru and Lee. They ate, and then they talked for a bit afterwards. Kiki yawned, and told everyone goodbye except for Neji when it was over. She closed the door and sighed, looking at him.

"Do you think that this mission is real or fake??" she asked.

"Who knows? We don't know where Tonton or Orochimaru are, and when they're so far away, my byakugan is useless. We were waiting for Kiba, but you came back and it helped us all. I always wanted to be closer to your age, but I never thought that I would actually be the same age as you…"

She laughed a hearty laugh, her eyes filling with it, and she rested her right hand on the living metal. He looked at her left hand, which clenched into a fist as her eyes closed, and then watched as her right hand brought the living metal band off of her arm, the metal growing in size. The two ends clasped together, her eyes opening along with her left hand. Taking a pinch of the purple fire in her hand, she rubbed it between her fingers, creating dust.

"Close your eyes for a second, Neji." Kiki ordered, her face asking him to trust her. He closed his eyes, and felt her fingertips brush across his eyelids. "This should allow you to see into the panel of magic that I will be putting inside of the metal," she stated as she spread the magic into a sheet inside of the metal ring. She closed her eyes, and placed her fingertips on the magic sheet, motioning for Neji to do the same. She opened her eyes, and whispered, "Show me Tonton."

Suddenly, in their minds' eyes, they flew through the forest, into its depths, and down a path that led straight to Tonton, showing Orochimaru's face staring straight at them. Then, the spell was over, and they were back in their bodies, looking at the faded purple sheet of magic. Kiki's palm touched the sheet, and her magic was absorbed back into her body, the only loss of magic being the powder she had placed on Neji's eyes (which is only about .0001 of her total magic…).

Kiki glanced at Neji, slid the armband back in place, and rested her back against the wall, her right foot balanced against the wall for support. She closed her eyes for a second, but opened them when his arm rested against her back. Pulling her to him, he kissed her gently, keeping her close to him. He released the kiss, still holding her close, and she returned it, her arms wrapping around his neck. They stood there until they heard snickering from outside the window. Turning, they saw Shade and Shikamaru being Peeping Toms.

A few minutes later, Shade and Shikamaru were inside, rubbing the knots on their heads. "Go home you two…" Kiki sighed, placing her hand on her forehead. Looking at the other window, she saw Luna and Lee peering in, laughing at the other two. She walked outside and dragged Luna and Lee into the room, with two fresh knots on their heads. She sent them all home, and turned back to Neji, "Sorry, I guess their old habits die fast."

"Don't worry about it!" he stated, kissing her briefly before returning home himself. She sighed when he left, and then closed the door, locking it before heading upstairs to her room. Walking into her bathroom, she jumped into the bathtub and turned on the shower, washing away her thoughts. She hopped out and dried herself off with airbending. Wrapping the towel around her body, she walked into her room. Neji was in the room again, looking for something that he had left in the room.

He looked up, saw her, and blushed as she squeaked. She walked into the closet, pulled on a shirt, underwear, and loose-fitting pajama pants, and walked back into the room. Kneeling down next to him she asked, "What did you drop? And remember how before I said that you could knock at least?"

"I know I could knock, but I didn't think that it would take this long to find my key." Neji sighed. He watched as her eyes grew blank and distant, before she opened them, flew under the bed, and came out with his key. She smiled, handed the key to him, and they stood up. Brushing her pants off, she looked at him with humor in her eyes.

"Did you plan that?" she asked, laughter filling her eyes.

"No, I didn't try that," he replied, stepping closer to her and wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest sleepily, and he stroked her hair (okay, they're about the same height, so she's leaning in…). She moved her head again, looking into his eyes, falling into the depths of his soul. The pendant around her neck glowed, causing his to glow as well. When the light was over, their lips were together, kissing one another gently.

When Neji released the kiss, Kiki stated, "Get some rest Neji-san. You'll need it for the mission."

_Okay, just to throw a quick fact in here, Neji is two days younger than I am…creepy, isn't it?? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter…don't worry, I'm gonna add Iruka in more after the mission!!! Please, review!!!_


	14. Here, Little Tonton

Chapter Fourteen

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Naruto characters… I own Kiki, Shade, Luna, and Suncry… anyway, enjoy!!!_

Kiki and Neji were at the gate when Luna, Lee, Shade, and Shikamaru arrived. Neji was wearing a royal blue shirt with black pants. His shoes were black, his hair was tied behind his back, and the amethyst teardrop was hanging from a silver chain on his neck. Kiki was wearing a light blue, sleeveless Chinese traditional shirt, black pants that ended at mid-calf, black sandal-like shoes, and her silver bangle above her left elbow. She had cut her raven black hair to her elbows, knowing that it would grow back overnight, the hair was tied behind her back with a silver ribbon, and her pendant was hanging around her neck on a silver chain.

Shikamaru pulled Shade towards him and kissed her, Lee doing the same with Luna. The two let the girls go, stepped back, and took off through the village. Kiki nodded to her three teammates, and they took off through the trees, following the path that Neji and Kiki had seen in the magic the night before.

Kiki swerved into the brush, turned to the left, and jumped, landing on the water before skating along on it. Her legs kept a smooth tempo with the rest of the team, not going too fast, making them struggle to keep up, but not too slow to where she would fall behind. Neji had a grin on his face as they drove along, and he raised the tempo for a bit, until they jumped over the ledge at the waterfall to the trees below.

He and Kiki landed on the water gracefully, Luna and Shade landing on the grass next to it, still running. They raced along the bank before Kiki and Neji jumped over to the shore again before taking a quick left and jumping from tree to tree. Luna and Shade looked at each other with grins on their faces, following precisely and quickening their pace until they caught up. They ran deeper into the forest, the trees becoming older, the growth becoming denser. At noon they stopped and ate. Kiki asked Suncry to stand watch as they rested before the battle that would most likely occur.

Lying on a tree branch, Kiki thought, _I hope she thinks we're ready to face Orochimaru. _Sighing, she fell asleep, her ears listening intently, keeping her sleep light. Something nudged her, and her left eye opened to reveal Neji.

"It's been about two hours, we need to go." Shade stated from below the branch. Kiki sat up, stretched, and jumped down from the branch, guiding them to the ancient tree that she had seen the night before. She opened the tree with her bending and stepped inside of the base. Racing through the rooms, they came upon the one with Tonton. Unfortunately, Orochimaru was in the room, waiting for them with a smirk on his face. Tonton was held in his hands, looking at them expectantly.

Kabuto grabbed Tonton and disappeared as Sasuke stepped out of the shadows. Kiki's face turned towards Neji, and her face was filled with anger, frustration, and sorrow at the village's loss of potential. She looked at Sasuke, whose eyes were wide, and he smirked. He drew his sword, pointed it at Neji, and attacked him. Shade and Luna had split up to look for Kabuto, and Orochimaru grinned maniacally. He Jumped towards her, and she dodged, her foot grabbed by his tongue though. She hit the floor hard, and her shoulders screamed.

Using her hands, she jumped up and freed herself of his grip. Grabbing his tongue, she threw him into a wall. Her eyes had taken on their reptilian form, and she pulled the swords out of their sheaths. She looked at Moonstorm, the furious, and let her anger, pain, and frustration sink into the blade. Taking Rainflight the healer, she placed her sorrow and her love for Neji into the blade. They started pulsing, a glow emanating from each. She smiled menacingly, and started her ultimate attack, the wrath of four souls. She spun the blades, letting them fly above her head as she called upon the power of the elements within her.

Grasping the hilts, she brought the blades along one another, causing the power of the elements to be unleashed upon Orochimaru. The roof of the room was blown off, and Orochimaru was ten feet away, staggering to his feet. Resheathing the blades, she held her right hand against the necklace. The silver chain pooled into her hands, she threw it into the air, and when it came down, it glowed massively. Everyone averted their eyes, and when they could see again, Kiki was sitting on the nose of the massive dragon Diamondflame.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke decided that the pig was not worth dying over, and retreated. Neji had rendered Sasuke unable to use his arms for the time being by blocking off the chakra points, and Kabuto had been cornered by Shade and Luna.

Neji's Battle

Neji dodged the blades, and decided to use his trigram system. He hit all of Sasuke's chakra points on his arms, and hit the nerves, paralyzing his arms temporarily. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and Sasuke retreated.

Shade and Luna's Battles

Shade and Luna opened doors, mind-speaking to one another. Luna opened a door and found two people making out on the bed. She cringed and closed the door swiftly. _I didn't know anybody lived here besides these three…_she mind-spoke to Shade, and Shade replied _I found him! _Luna teleported to where Shade was, and they cornered Kabuto before the ground shook from an explosion. After a blinding flash, Kabuto disappeared, leaving Tonton behind. (Don't worry, the people making out were fully clothed, my friend, who is the person Luna, is based off of…cringed when she read that…)

Back to the Present

Diamondflame destroyed what was left of the base, and the four returned to Konoha, not wanting to spend the night in the wilderness. The surrounding darkness was ominous, and they sped up, jumping the waterfall and flying through the grass (speed-wise). Neji ran next to Kiki, and Luna ran next to Shade, who was holding Tonton.

They reached Tsunade's office and handed her Tonton. Tonton was happy, Tsunade was happy, and there were four jonins about to fall asleep in her office. Kiki tiredly snapped her fingers and teleported them all to her house, let them each occupy a separate room, and attached the reservoir to the other three bathrooms, which were connected to the three rooms.

The closets had been filled with clothes, and she dragged her feet back to her room. Neji came up behind her, and she turned, kissing him softly. Her eyes fluttered shut, and he had to release the kiss to breathe. She woke up, yawned, and walked into her room, closing the door behind her. Neji walked back to his room, closed his door, and fell asleep as soon as his head was on the pillow.

When Kiki opened her eyes, she walked into her room filled with fabrics, tea in hand. She picked out an elegant red that would go amazingly with Shade's raven black hair, which had red streaks through it. Her brother contacted her and asked; _will you be at the palace tomorrow?_

_Yes, Jon, and I'll be bringing a few friends with me, _Kiki swiftly replied. She made an exact replica of Shade, and had the fabric weave itself to fit her form to a tee. She scrounged through all of her gray fabrics, looking for the one that had silver mixed in. She found it, looked at her blues, and picked out a dark blue that would compliment the gray. She made an exact copy of Luna, and did the same thing with the fabric for her as she had for Shade.

The door opened, and Neji walked in, nearly being brained by a flying shade of cream. Kiki looked up from her inspecting, smiled, and held up a few shades of various colors, looking at each closely before resting her hands on the forest green. She grabbed the silver/gray since it was done making Luna's outfit, and started letting her magic make an outfit on a Neji copy. Looking at Shade's dress, she sighed, took some maroon, and added it to the dress. For her copy, she chose silver, with a slight touch of blue. Her copy and Neji's finished at the same time, and she threw the clothes at him after his copy disappeared.

"Could you try those on for me?" she asked, ushering him out of the room. She walked down the hallway, rapped her knuckles on Shade's door, and walked inside. She walked out again, and rapped on the door to Luna's room. Stepping out, she walked to her own room and closed the door.

A few minutes later, they were standing in the hallway, a Kiki clone gathering the clothes for the miniscule repairs and the stain proof magic to be cast upon the silk. When she walked out of the room, she had the clothes, and she passed them to her three team-mates. Walking down the hallway, she took the steps to the downstairs and walked to the hallway. Turning to a door on the right, she opened it and walked down the stairs to the basement.

The candles were brought to life, and Kiki looked at the drawer of (literally) "stuff" that was at the walls in one corner. Along the wall next to the drawers, an assortment of weaponry was hanging on racks. She walked over to the swords and inspected them, searching through her assortment of personalized blades. Stopping at Chaos, the destructive, she pulled the sword from the wall. Unsheathing the sword, she held the blade up to the light.

She replaced the blade on the rack, and looked at Swiftblaze, the courageous. She grasped the hilt, unsheathed the sword, and smiled. Alanna's blade was getting old, so this one would be a proper replacement. Satisfied, she walked upstairs before closing the door. Walking to her room, she grabbed a hilt from the back of her closet and slid the sword inside of it. She placed the sword at the foot of her bed before going downstairs to the kitchen.

Heating up a pan, she sat some chocolate on the counter. She grabbed some ice and milk, and set them on the counter too. Taking a huge glass out of the cupboard, she put all of the ingredients in it before crushing it easily with her magic. She took some potatoes and fried them, and took some sausages and cooked them in the pan. She sat the food at the table and placed plates out.

"Food's on!!" she shouted, and three faces came walking down the stairs. Shade yawned, and Luna stated, I'm taking a shower as soon as breakfast is over. Kiki sat down and smiled, pouring some of the milkshake in each glass. They all ate to their hearts' content, and then Luna went upstairs to take a shower.

Kiki's magic cleared the table, and Shade went upstairs, her shower turning on too. The dishes were washed, and Kiki walked upstairs with Neji following behind her. She sat on her bed and looked out at the village. Smiling, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the backs of her hands. A hand was placed under her chin, making her look up. Her eyes opened to see Neji looking at her, smiling.

"I believe this happens next…" she stated, pressing her lips to his, feeling her fingers grasp his chin. She pulled her lips back, and he pressed his lips against hers, his hands grasping her around the waist and pulling her to him, holding her tight. She wrapped her hands on his cheeks and pulled back. He saw her eyes look away, her eyes became unfocused, and a tear formed in her eye.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his lips brushing against her ear. Her eyes returned to normal and she buried her head in his chest, tears streaming from her cheeks. He held her as she started sobbing uncontrollably, her body shaking as he tried to soothe her. His hand stroked through her hair, and her sobs slowed.

"I'm sorry if I made you worry. My magic doesn't normally do that to me unless I'm asleep. I just got a remembrance from when I was little, from the day that my mother died. I have never felt so helpless in my life…and…" she started sobbing again, uncontrollably, her head back to his shirt, her tears full of frustration and sorrow. Shade walked in, and stared at the sight.

"If you're thinking about what I think you're thinking about, leave me out of it! I don't want to have to cringe every time I pass this room!" Shade cried. Neji and Kiki both stared at her, horrified.

"Nee-chan, did you take your meds this morning?!" Kiki asked.

"I don't have any meds…"

"Why don't you go get your head checked?!" Luna asked, passing the door.

"Who asked you Luna?!" Shade shrieked, chasing Luna around the house. Kiki giggled and placed her hands on top of his, pressing them ever so slightly to make them release her. She walked out of his grasp, sat on her bed, and leaned against the headboard.

Blinking, Neji sat down next to her and rested his head on his hands, clasped behind his back, resting against the headboard. She opened one eye and looked at him, smirking. His right eyebrow rose questioningly, and her smile broadened. Looking at him, she placed her head next to his ear and smiled even more.

"If you haven't noticed, this family is extremely weird. Are you sure you would want to join it?" she asked, her lips brushing against his earlobe, teasing him.

He brought his face around, scooped her into his lap, and kissed her smoothly, his lips enveloping hers, his hands holding her against him. He let go for a second, and Kiki smiled.

"I take that as a yes." She stated before returning the kiss, her arms holding him, her body moving off of his lap, her feet touching the floor. She brushed his cheek with her hand, grabbed him off of the bed, and shuffled him out of the room stating, "I'll let you back in when I'm done with my shower!"

She closed the door and silently padded to her bathroom. She closed the door, removed her clothes, and climbed into the rushing torrent of water, sighing. Her magic cleaned her hair, and she washed away her troubles as she scrubbed her body. Stepping out of the shower, she bent herself dry and wrapped her towel around herself (familiar scene, isn't it?). She walked into her closet; picked out a blue midriff shirt, blue pants that came to her knees, and blue sandals, topping it off with a blue ribbon in her hair in the same place as the bottom of her shirt. Taking a kunai, she cut her hair two inches below the ribbon, placing the cut hair in the wastebasket before leaving the room.

Walking downstairs, she opened a door in the hallway and walked down into the basement. She turned at the bottom of the steps, took a key from a pouch on her belt, and placed the key into the lock of a door. The door clicked open, and Kiki walked inside, feeling the damp air in the room and the chill of the water. Taking a deep breath, she walked onto the water, stopping at the center. Closing her eyes, Kiki began to let her troubles drown in the water, falling to her feet and spreading into the water

Kiki opened her eyes and fell backwards, her back landing in the air a few inches above the water. She smiled, and curled into a ball, sinking below the surface, resting her head at the bottom of the water. She felt someone dive into the water, and opened her eyes to look at them. Neji was swimming to the bottom, so she motioned with her hand and surfaced, climbing atop of the water as it slipped off of her. He grabbed her shoulders, his eyes worried.

"What was that all about?" he asked, holding her chin so that she would look into his eyes.

"I was resting and letting my worries be absorbed into the water. There was no danger, Neji-san. I wouldn't do anything like that, wouldn't want you to worry." Kiki stated, her eyes betraying no emotions. She grasped his chin and placed her lips around his soothingly. She wrapped her arms around him, and sat down, holding him against her as a mother would to comfort her child.

"Oh, look at the cute couple. Will they withstand the test of time?" Luna cooed, walking over to them. Kiki opened her arms and Neji Stood up, offering his hand to her. She grasped it and he pulled her to her feet.

"Are you ready to work on your bending, Kiki?" Luna asked, pulling Neji over to the side of the pool. Kiki nodded and walked back to the edge of the pool, one foot in front of the other, her elbows slightly bent, palms facing upwards. She sighed, and brought her left palm to the water, swinging her arm in a high arc, and pulling the water in a streamline around herself rapidly, spinning faster and faster, until she pulled her other arm out and released the water from her left hand. She jumped and twisted, her body bending to the contour of the stream of water.

She landed and twirled ever so slightly, the water receding back into the pool. Stopping, she sank to the water and held her shoulders, biting back a scream of pain. Luna knew that normally, Kiki would have gone on for half an hour before Luna did so herself, and she raced over. Neji followed quickly, activating his Byakugan. Kiki screamed in pain before collapsing onto the water in a tight ball.

Neji scooped her up in his arms, raced out of the room, and shouted, "Shade, go get Tsunade!" as he flew up the stairs. He took her to her room and placed her on the bed, his eyes worried, noting the beads of sweat on her face, which was twisted in pain.

Tsunade flew into the room, Shade and Shizune following right behind, Sakura following them with the supplies. Tsunade went to sit Kiki up, her hand resting on Kiki's shoulder blade. Kiki screamed, her eyes overflowing, and then fell into unconsciousness. Her body went limp, and Tsunade lifted her back, careful to avoid her shoulders. Luna stood with Lee, her face worried, as Lee tried to comfort her. Shikamaru was soothing Shade, who was devastated by her sister's scream. She shook her head and buried her face in Shikamaru's neck.

Tsunade opened the back of Kiki's shirt and gasped. Neji looked at Kiki's shoulders and grimaced. Her shoulders were black and blue, swollen, and looked like something dead. Lee grabbed his mouth, raced into the bathroom, and threw up. Shizune looked disgusted and raced out of the room. Tsunade used her chakra and healed Kiki's shoulders, and then Sakura placed some medicine at Kiki's mouth. Kiki opened her eyes weakly, sniffed the medicine, and sneezed. Sakura asked her to drink it as Kiki kept sneezing.

"I can't drink that, I'm allergic to it," she stated bluntly.

"Just drink it! There are no excuses on not drinking medicine."

"I'm telling you I'm allergic! There's a slight bit of alcohol in it, and I'm allergic to alcohol!" she replied, her eyes glowing.

"I don't think anyone can be allergic to medicine," Sakura stated coolly.

"Oh, so you really want to be blown up?!" Kiki retorted, "If I ingest that, my body will reject it, and not only will I become sick, but I'll sneeze with the power of a thousand explosive tags at once."

Sakura gazed at Tsunade, who nodded, and Sakura removed the alcohol from the medicine. She gave the cup to Kiki, and Kiki downed it, her face showing nothing, but her eyes showing disgust. She gasped, and fell back onto the mattress. Tsunade smiled and told Shade what Kiki needed to do, closing the door as she left.

Lee escorted Luna back to her room, closed the door behind him, and kissed her. He held her against him as they kissed, and she pressed him against the door. Locking it, she wrapped him in her arms and kissed him more ferociously, her tongue dancing with his, her body pressing him against the door. She released her lips to catch a breath, and he picked her up and sat on her bed, placing her in his lap. He kissed her profusely, and she kissed him back, pushing away afterwards. He smiled and placed his forehead against hers, his lips trailing to her neck.

She rested her head on his shoulder, and he placed her on her bed. Pulling the blankets over her shoulders, he padded to the door and unlocked it. Stepping out, he closed it again, walking downstairs to comfort Neji, who was pacing in the kitchen,

Shade and Shika

Shade walked back to her room; followed by Shika (Shikamaru is too long to keep typing, so I shall call him Shika). She closed the door and locked it when he entered, and then kissed him lightly. He pressed her against himself, kissing her fully, his lips brushing against hers, his tongue parting her slender lips. She gave in and pulled him to her on her bed, holding him there as she kissed him. He sat next to her and kissed her, leaning into the kiss, causing them to topple onto the sheets.

He continued to kiss her, trying to regain a vertical position, pulling her up with him only to fall back down to the sheets. Her eyes closed, and her body became limp as she fell into the abyss of unconsciousness. Placing one last kiss on her forehead, he opened the door and walked down to the kitchen where Neji and Lee were waiting.

_This seems like a great place to leave off for the next chapter, so I will do so. Please review, and tell me what you think!_


	15. Painful Memories

Chapter Fifteen

_Disclaimer, I only own Kiki, Shade, Luna, and Suncry. Lunaverserocks owns Luna mostly and I share Shade's possession with my cousin. If only I owned the other characters in the story…not only would I be a happy artist, I would be a rich one!! If only, if only…_

Kiki opened her eyes and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She sat at the table and looked at Neji, who was resting with his head pillowed on his arms, his face worried. Planting a kiss on his cheek, she walked into the cupboard and grabbed a teabag to make peppermint tea. She heated the water in the cup with firebending, and drank the tea, her nerves calming down after the ordeal that morning.

She washed the cup, put it away, and went over to Neji. Picking him up, she walked up the stairs with him in her arms. She stopped at the top of the steps, noticed that he was awake, and let him down onto the floor. He grasped her waist and walked her into her room, placing her on the bed before closing the door.

"Please, don't ever scare me like that again!" he cried softly, kissing her, holding her against him. She released the kiss and hugged his shoulders, brushing her lips over his ear. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him again, pulling him towards herself. He fell forward, landing on top of her as she kissed him. Her eyes flew open, and he stared at her, noting the slight pain in her eyes. He went to move, but found himself held there by her arms. He caressed her lips with his as she kissed him smoothly. Her eyes opened, and he noticed the pain in them as she let her arms fall. She bit her lip until it started to bleed and he stepped away, grabbing the balm that Tsunade had given them.

Walking over, he inspected her shoulders from above, then pulled the back of her shirt down below the shoulder blades (not in a perverted way, Luna…Neji has too much dignity to do that). When he saw that they were black and blue, he took some of the balm and rubbed it across her shoulders, noticing her wind tighter into the little ball of pain that she had gone into shortly beforehand.

She suddenly relaxed as he placed the back of her shirt back over her shoulders, recapped the balm, and sat down next to her, stroking her hair. She unwound from the ball and looked at him, sorrow evident on her face.

"I've never felt so helpless in my life, except for the time that my mother died while all I could do was watch and weep." she whispered, looking towards the wall. Her eyes were wet from the crying, and her cheeks were still wet from the previously shed tears. Her body quivered, and she held her head in one hand.

Scooping her up, Neji hugged her, wishing that the wings would finish molding soon, since it was taking a toll on her body. "Don't worry; I know you aren't weak, so I understand how painful this must be. I just wish that there was some way to end the pain in your shoulders."

She laughed, her eyes brimming with laughter now instead of pain, the pain completely gone from her body and her mind. "The funny thing is, just as you said that, the transformation became complete. My shoulders don't hurt anymore, and I have the full skeletal structure of a dragon!" She laughed, standing up and opening the door.

She walked down the hallway, peered into Shade's door, and saw her drooling on her pillow in her sleep. She cringed, thinking, _Just like Jiraiya. _Neji looked at her, eyebrow raised, and she shrugged. She checked in on Luna, but didn't see her in her room. Walking into the pool room, she saw Luna skating along the water, bending it skillfully.

Kiki walked onto the water and dove in, landing at the bottom. Neji watched as she stayed under, and Luna came over to him. Kiki came back up and propelled herself out of the water, landing beside Luna. She grabbed her key from the wall, dried off, and walked out of the room to her own room.

Kiki walked upstairs and changed into clothes that were NOT caked with sweat and tears. When she came out of her closet, she was wearing a long red shirt that yielded at her mid-thigh to reveal gold pants ending at her knees. She pulled on some black shoes, and she replaced the blue ribbon with a gold one, cutting her hair to the bottom of her shoulders. Smiling, Kiki walked out of the room.

"Conté pride day, huh?" Shade asked as she exited her room. Yawning, she whispered, "Dern that Shikamaru, he'll pay for that!"

Kiki raised an inquiring eyebrow, and Shade shrugged it off. They walked downstairs, sat at the table, and talked. Kiki got up, did a mock salute, and walked out of the house. Spreading her wings, she felt a new presence in them. She smiled, took off, and flew to Tsunade's mansion. Knocking on the window to her office, she flew in.

Shizune nearly choked on her tea, and Tsunade stared at her before stating, "Shouldn't you be healing those shoulders?" Kiki smiled and then laughed, her eyes gleaming with joy.

"The transformation is complete! They won't hurt anymore!" Kiki laughed, catching her breath. Her eyes were brimming with joy and laughter, and she allowed Tsunade to examine them. When she turned around again, Tsunade was laughing as Tonton stared at Shizune. Shizune appeared as though she had seen a ghost, and was facing the other way.

"Well, you can go back and prepare for tomorrow if you need to. If anything comes up, I'll send somebody for you."

Kiki nodded and jumped out of the window, spreading her wings to fly back home. She saw Iruka waving at her, and she landed next to him, folding her wings neatly. He had a mischievous grin on his face, so she raised her eyebrows.

"There's a new guard!" he cheered, smiling broadly.

Kiki sighed and shook her head in embarrassment. She placed a hand on his shoulder, told him, "Maybe later…" and took off into the air. Gliding on warm air currents, she let her hair loose from the ribbon holding it back. It whipped around her face, and she smiled while breathing in the sweet scent of a Konoha spring.

She landed on her windowsill and pulled the window open. Hopping in, she walked over to her closet and opened it. While digging around inside of her closet, everyone else in the house hear a curse word every so often. When she came out, the other three were watching the spectacle. She walked past them and down the hall to an ornate door. Opening it, she walked inside, parcel in hand.

Everyone waited patiently, until she walked out. She walked downstairs, a blank expression on her face, as if her mind was somewhere else, and nearly kart wheeled down the stairs. They looked at each other and then followed hastily, in time to see her disappear down the stairs to the basement. They flew down the stairs just in time to see her brush through a hidden door in the wall.

When they entered the room, the parcel was open on the floor, and she was trading her sandals for skates. She walked over to the ice and started to glide across it, her legs moving at a swift but steady pace, her hair flying behind her. Her one foot turned to the left, and she jumped into the air in a spinning arc. Landing on the opposite foot, she took off through the air again. Luna smiled and placed her skates over her own feet, Shade doing the same. Neji watched as the three girls did a mesmerizing dance, before Kiki spun rapidly in the middle. When she stopped, her hand flew above her head, and Luna and Shade were in the same positions next to her.

When she came off of the ice, Neji walked over to her. Her eyes were unfocused as she took off the skates, and when they came back into focus, she gazed at him softly. Suddenly, her eyes grew angry, and she stared at a space behind him. Taking off over his shoulder, she punched a shadow right next to the wall. In a puff of smoke, it vanished.

"Timmad!!!! Stupid Kage Bunshin!!" she yelled, repairing the crater left in the wall. A single tear ran down her cheek, and she brushed it away, walking out of the room. She felt tears coming, and she sprinted to her room, where she fell into her pillows and wept. Neji came in a few minutes later to find her asleep, her cheeks and pillows soaked with tears. Brushing hair out of her face, he planted a kiss on her cheeks and pulled the blinds closed so that the sunlight wouldn't wake her.

"_I'm sorry, Kiki, but he's left the village, running from his crime."_

"_Hokage-sama, I'm sorry, but I have to go after him, maybe I can reason with him. I'm the only person capable of doing just that, if even I can get through to him now!" a twelve-year-old Kiki cried to the Third Hokage._

"_Very well; do what you can, but remember, he most likely will not return for your sake alone," he replied._

_She nodded and flew from the place where bodies were strewn everywhere, only two Uchihas left. Jumping over the wall, she followed the trace amount of his chakra that she could sense. Suddenly, his connection to her trough their minds was severed, and she landed near where she had felt his presence before the connection was lost. Beneath a rock rested a folded piece of paper with her name written upon it._

_She read the paper, going over it twice, her eyes overflowing in the darkness. Suddenly, a blood-curdling cry of sorrow escaped her lips, and she fell onto her forearms, her hair shrouding her as she wept. She had lost her love, her best friend, all for a jhutsu that was in his bloodline limit. In the shadows, he had his head lowered, as he wept for her before racing into the night._

Kiki woke up, her memories just as fresh as they had been six and a half years before, the day she lost her boyfriend, her best friend. She sat on the bed and wept, knowing that he hadn't recognized her the last time they had met. The next time that tey met she would make sure he remembered her, and make sure he knew just how much he had hurt her, his betrayal still in her mind after all of those years, her heart torn in two by his words. She hadn't believed them to be true then, and she still grasped the hope that, someday, he would return, that she would wake up, that the nightmare and heartbreak would be over. Oh how she wished for that day to come, yet knowing that it never would.

_Cliffhanger, right?! Well, this is a twist in her background, but don't worry, at some moment, the story might split apart and become two different paths to lead. She'll find him, and then, the rest is up to fate._


	16. Former Love Returns

Chapter Sixteen

_Okay, disclaimer!!! I only own Kiki, Shade, Luna, Suncry, and the dead people…who, after this chapter, will be let out of the disclaimer unless I use them in a chapter!! Hope you enjoy this part of Konoha K&S!!_

She felt along the connection and pinpointed a location. It was still an hour before noon, and she was outside in the glowing sunlight, laying on the roof, deep in thought. She had her hands cushioning her head, and her knees were bent, one leg resting on the knee of the other. The wind shifted slightly, and she decided to go practice at the waterfall again, to relieve her stressful emotions.

Opening the window, she called to the house, "I'm going training!" After hearing three muffled Okays, she jumped from the roof and took off through the trees. She flew around, following the path that would lead her to Itachi. Her eyes grew distant, and she removed the pendant she had given him years ago from her own. Holding it in her hand, she tried to reopen the severed channel.

Flying around a bend in the path, she reached the clearing, but saw nobody. Her new connection to Itachi's mind, made by Suncry and Diamondflame, was bright, but she couldn't pinpoint the location. Landing in the clearing, she scanned it for any signs of where the pathway might lead. Closing her eyes, she readjusted them to her reptilian dragon version. Her eyes opened once more, but when she scanned the clearing, she still saw nothing.

"Timmad!" she whispered, and her left foot went flying in an arc through the air, the heel landing on a rock and obliterating it. She breathed in, trying to calm her frayed nerves, but she just couldn't. Walking onto the water, she sat down and closed her eyes, focusing on the thread of magic. She knew he was close, but her eyes just wouldn't allow her to see what was close to her grasp.

Once again, she opened her mind into the severed channel, as she had done so many times in the six and a half years that he had been gone. She focused her mind on the strand, and tried to reconnect the two pieces at the close distance. Suddenly, a hand grasped her shoulder, and she was catapulted through the air. Her eyes flew open, she grabbed the pendant, and she threw it to the person who had thrown her. Catching it, he looked down, and gasped. Water wrapped around her waist, and she was sent crashing into the water, causing her to choke on it, and cough. A hand grasped her and lifted her upward as she stopped coughing. The water was still around her waist, and when he motioned to his partner, the water disappeared.

"So, you decided to try and find me again, did you?" he asked, his voice so familiar, the voice of the red-eyed stranger; the voice of Itachi. She opened her eyes calmly, her hair hiding her face from Kisame. She looked back at him and smiled wickedly. Grasping his hand, she threw him over her hip and had him in front of her. He calmly smiled, and the bunshin was gone. She jumped up when Kisame sent water towards her, and she blocked the water with a sheet of ice.

Suddenly, she was thrown down to the water again, and she slid across the glassy surface. Her eyes stared into those of Itachi, and before she knew what he was doing, she noticed the necklace around his neck. He noticed her gaze, and he smiled.

"So… you did get it," she gasped, her eyes becoming unfocused and blurry. "I'm glad." Smiling, her eyes lost focus rapidly, until everything went black.

Luna was talking with Lee, and she was stating how Kiki had made outfits for him and for Shika, since they were accompanying the girls to Tortall the next day. He smiled, and kissed her softly. Pulling her closer, he held her tightly as he kissed her, his lips parting her own as he did so. She pulled him closer, and they released the kiss when they were completely out of breath.

She placed her head on his chest, and sighed. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and held her there as she leaned against it. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. But the thing is, she didn't know what. He noticed her worry, and asked her what was troubling her. She told him that it was nothing, but the worry in her eyes was evident. He held her tighter, as if to protect her, and he rested his head on hers.

Smiling up at him, she kissed him, her troubles melting away, her mind only thinking of the current moment in time. He returned her kiss, one hand beneath her chin, the other resting on her back, holding her close. He wanted to wipe away all of her troubles, and to keep her happy instead of having her so worried over the things that she wouldn't tell him. She sighed, and her eyes opened, worry pushed to the innermost recesses of her mind.

"Luna, please tell me what has you so worried. I haven't seen you this troubled since everyone thought that Kiki was dead, or captured, or…"

"Something's happening, Lee, I'm sure of it."

Kiki started to sink beneath the surface, her breathing shallow, her eyes closed. Itachi grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out of the water, since he still didn't recognize her. She had changed in the six and a half years since he had left, and he was incapable of recognizing her. All that he remembered of her was from two years prior. She was the one who had taken him to Tsunade and Jiraiya, to have him pay for what he had done. But still, he felt as though he knew her more than just that. He recognized her face, but he couldn't place a name on the face itself.

She moved slightly, her eyes closing tighter as though she was having horrid dreams. He pulled her out of the water completely, and carried her to the cave behind the waterfall where Kisame was waiting patiently.

"Do you have an explanation for why you didn't just let her drown?" he asked, laughing. His cruel eyes betrayed nothing as Itachi looked at him calmly.

With his own cruel smile, Itachi calmly stated, "I want to know why I feel as though I know her somehow. If I don't know her, then you can do as you wish."

Kisame grinned, his thoughts running through the best known ways to kill a person. He looked at Itachi, who appeared deep in thought, and frowned. Itachi had a distant expression on his face, and when he looked at him, he felt puzzled by this look. Itachi had never had this distant of a look on his face before, had never let his feelings show before, and had never expressed an opinion in finding out the identity of a person presumably from his past.

Itachi had noticed when the other half of the magical strand's connection had been renewed, and he tried to remember who had owned the other half of the expression. He dove into the deepest recesses of his mind, where he had buried all of his memories from his past, and tore through them to find the one he was looking for.

_A girl with raven black hair walked along beside him, chatting with him. She smiled, and he smiled back at her, the spring wind whipping through their hair._

_A young girl graduated the academy the year after he did, the same age as he had been when he graduated. She had been placed in another group, and she had talked to him often, sharing experiences from the battlefield._

_An older version of this girl sat in a clearing the night he had killed his clan. She read through the note he had left for her, tears flooding down her face. A blood-curdling cry pierced the air, as she collapsed to her forearms. A solitary tear slid down his cheek as he hid in the trees. She grasped the pendant she had given him as the rain started to fall._

"Kiki-chan, it couldn't be you, could it?" he whispered to nobody in particular. Kisame looked puzzled, confused. Itachi's eyes regained their former look, the blue version looking at Kisame.

"Who is Kiki-chan?" he asked warily. Itachi looked away, and became silent for a time.

"Kiki… was my girlfriend before I killed my clan," he finally replied, his eyes closed. He looked over to Itachi, who looked surprised. Then he looked to Kiki, and noticed that she appeared worried, even in her unconscious state. Her eyes closed harder, and she rolled onto her other side, her eyes becoming calm once more.

_She was four. Peering at the Fourth Hokage, she smiled and ran off. He smiled, knowing that she had more battle experience than most genin shinobi. It was odd to see a child who excelled so greatly in the Shang style of fighting. What was rarer was for a child to master the Shang in a few months, let alone at her age._

"_Hokage-sama, come on!" she cooed. She raced through a clearing and disappeared into the trees. He looked at Kakashi and Jiraiya, and they walked after her. They heard a shriek, and they raced through the trees._

_When they reached the clearing, they found her surrounded by a group of rogue shinobi. She looked ticked off as she stared into their leader's face. He glared at her, and she was grasping the pendant that was around her neck._

_He went to slap her face, but she caught his hand, and threw him over her back. Her eyes became bright, and she jumped into the air. Grabbing a stick she carried in her belt, she twirled it in front of her, the remaining four men laughing. When the stick stopped, the ends of the glaive (long staff with two knife-like ends that cut through anything as though it was warm butter. Well, at least Kiki's…) flew out. She swept it in an arc before her, and two of the men went down._

_They finished the bandits off, and she looked up at Jiraiya. Her eyes bright, she asked the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, when do you think I'll be able to start training at the academy?"_

Kiki stirred, curling her back, looking like a cat. She slowly opened her eyes, and noticed that she was in the cave behind the waterfall. The events from earlier caught up to her, and she rolled to her other side, looking at Itachi and Kisame, who were engaged in a conversation. Her shoulders throbbed slightly, and she placed her hand over one of the shoulder blades.

They both glanced at her quickly, and she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and clasping one hand around them. The other hand she used to prop herself up. Kisame stood up and left the cave, and Kiki watched as he glanced back at her before disappearing behind the waterfall. She looked back to Itachi, and noticed that he was face-to-face with her. He grasped her chin, and placed his mouth near her ear.

"You are Kiki-chan, aren't you?" he asked coolly, his breath warm on her ear and her neck. She attempted to pull away, but he held her chin strongly, making her incapable of moving her head.

"So you did remember, did you Itachi-san? I thought that the pendant would have reminded you, but I guess that you forced me out of your mind along with everything else after you joined the Akatsuki. There was no more time in your life for me, or for anyone else, and you made that perfectly clear in the note that I was left the day you left."

She looked away, and a single tear slipped from her eye. Itachi saw it, and wiped it off of her cheek. Pulling her chin back towards his face, he looked into her eyes. Hers were filled with a deeply hidden sorrow, and his contained one that had been buried, but was now resurfacing. She closed her eyes, and his lips brushed against her cheek. Memories flooded back, and it was as if he had never left.

She opened her eyes when his hand fell from her chin, and she grasped the pendant he wore, wishing for the world to readjust its past, to make it so that he never left. He pulled her to his chest and rested his head on top of hers, comforting her as he had when Xherus had died. Her eyes flew open, and she looked up at him, not sure what to make of the sudden kindness. There were his eyes, the deep blue she had seen so many times at the academy, when he was always smiling.

She pulled herself away from his grasp and stood up, walking farther into the cave. She rested her back against the wall, and sighed in wariness and confusion. _What am I going to do if things get worse than this; I don't want to fight him right now. Suncry, are you listening? SUNCRY! _She searched every pit of her mind, but the dragoness was not there. _Just great, she picked the perfect time to visit her daughter. _Once again sighing, she opened her eyes and grasped the pendant that was around her neck, gazing at the ground.

Itachi's hand grabbed her chin softly, and he pushed her face up to look at him. She gazed into his eyes, and she flinched when his lips touched hers. Tears streamed down her face as memories came back from times when he had done the same thing before, when he was in the ANBU. His lips parted hers, and she tried to move her head away. His grip on her chin tightened, and she yelped, her voice muffled by his kiss.

Her emotions from years before flooded back to her, and she closed her eyes, her arms coiling around his neck. His other hand wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her tightly against himself. His lips left hers for a second, and then he kissed her again, the hand on her chin caressing her cheek. She felt his tongue slip through her lips, and she pulled back slightly.

"I can't do this, Itachi. I'm going out with someone else, and I'm," she was cut off as he kissed her deeply.

"I don't care that you're from Konoha, and your boyfriend doesn't know what's coming, if he thinks that he can keep you from me," he replied, kissing her again, smiling as she returned his kiss with one stronger than his. His hands slid lower; resting above her hips, clasped at her back.

She looked at him, and he let her go. She sat on the ground against the cave wall, sighing. He smiled, thinking, _I bet she hasn't had a kiss that strong since I left. _He sat next to her, and she rested her head against his shoulder. He draped one arm around her shoulders, while his hand stroked her arm. His other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She squirmed slightly, knowing a man's lusts were nearly impossible to escape if you were in the wrong position. This was one where men had dominance, and where the woman's strength was limited.

"Don't worry, Kiki-chan, I'm not that kind of man," he sighed, kissing her, pressing her chest against his own. She accepted the kiss, and slowly closed her eyes, letting him kiss her.

Suddenly, he released her and stood up. He unsnapped all of the clasps on his jacket, and let it hang loosely around his shoulders. Grabbing her again, he pulled her to her feet as he kissed her, his hands wrapped tightly around her waist. Her arms wrapped around his chest, as they had when he had been so much taller than she when he kissed her years prior. _Six and a half years, and his kissing is still amazing._

She sighed as he released the kiss, planting one on her forehead. Picking her up, he carried her farther into the cave, the darkness enveloping them.

_I'll leave you hanging here, just to see what kind of ideas pop into your head…hehe!! Anyway, review please!!_


	17. A Path Forged in Time

A Path Forged in Time

_Sorry, I'm tired of numbers!!! Anyway, disclaimer: I only own Kiki, Suncry, Sunstorm, Mooncry, Luna, and Shade. If I forgot anyone, I'll remember them sooner or later!!! Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!!! _

Kiki watched as he sat her next to a shining pool of water. She placed one hand on the glassy surface, and smiled, her touch turning it to ice. Itachi sat next to her and gazed into the water. She looked at him and knew nothing of what he was thinking. She went to stand up, but was held in place by his arm, which tightened around her waist, making her unable to struggle. He turned her head to face his, and pressed his lips over hers. His grip loosened slightly, and she sprang from his grasp.

"I'm sorry Itachi, but… I just need some time to think, to…" she whispered before he walked over to her and had her pinned against the wall. His eyes were gentle, but she was still wary.

"I would never ask you to be anything besides what you are now. If we could erase the past, we would be…"

"…married by now," she stated, finishing his sentence. She smiled, "But what would have been bad about that? You would still have your family to protect, and you wouldn't have Konoha ninja after you. Your brother would still grow to be an excellent shinobi, and he wouldn't have a vendetta against you. You could have grown to be the head of the ANBU, could have been one of our best shinobi in the village."

"Nothing would be bad about that, but because of the decision I made, I can't go back to Konoha. You know that I can't."

"I know. I just wish that, if only for a moment, you could." Kiki turned and walked out of the cave. Once in the light, she took off through the trees and jumped above the waterfall.

Opening her wings, she swooped down to the river, one wing sliding through the water, slicing through the glassy surface. Looking back, she did a mock salute to Itachi, who was standing in the cave entrance. He smirked as Kisame walked up to him, and returned the mock salute. She folded in her wings, and landed on the water, deciding to run. She saw him still, and she took off at supersonic speed through the trees.

She slowed down and waved to the guards as she passed through the gate, before taking off to Ichiraku Ramen. She sat in a seat, and ordered a bowl of ramen. Looking to her left she saw Choji talking to Kiba, while Akamaru lapped at the ramen broth. Kiba looked over at her and smiled. Choji, who was eating his ramen, looked over, finished his bowl, and smiled too.

"They told us you were back, but we had to see it for ourselves!" Kiba laughed as Akamaru sniffed Kiki's arm. He growled, and she laughed. Reaching her hand over, she scratched behind his ear.

"He sure has gotten…huge, haven't you, Akamaru?" she stated to both Kiba and Akamaru. When her ramen was set in front of her, she started to eat it, talking to Kiba and Choji between bites.

Neji walked over and elbowed her in the back, asking, "Weren't you supposed to be training?"

"I was, but since it's lunch time, I decided to eat. Want to join us?" she asked, smiling.

Sighing, he sat down next to her. _Why me? I HAD to go out with the girl who hangs out with the WEIRDEST people in town, didn't I? _He ordered a pork ramen, as she ordered two bowls, one for herself and one for Akamaru. They all looked at her, but when she sat one down for Akamaru, Kiba laughed. Choji went back to eating as Neji smiled.

"What? Dogs are people too, you know."

"I didn't say anything…" he murmured.

Smiling, she finished her ramen, and paid for all of the food, including Choji's. Smiling, she walked away, leaving them to talk amongst themselves. Walking down the street, she passed the gate and looked over. She stopped as she saw Jiraiya and Naruto walking through. An enormous grin crossed her face, and she bolted to her home, feeling her joy return. She opened the door quickly, and looked around for anyone in the house. When she saw nobody, she sighed and walked into her room.

She grabbed the doorknob to the bathroom and stepped in. Stepping into the shower, she grabbed her bathing things. She placed them in a bag and then went to visit Tsunade. She opened the window and looked at Tsunade, smiling.

"You just missed them," she sighed. Looking at Kiki, her eyebrow rose an inch.

"I feel like going to the hot springs, what about you two?" she asked, her smile widening. They nodded, and the three walked out of the mansion, a note on Tsunade's door, and a bag in hand.

Hot Springs (baths)

Kiki was talking to Tsunade, laughing, as Shizune smiled and fell asleep. They both looked over at the wall to the men's baths as they felt someone's gaze on their bodies. Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Naruto lowered their heads quickly, and Kiki and Tsunade shouted, "Don't think about sneaking a peek again, or it will be the last thing you ever do!"

Half an hour later, they walked out, refreshed, and Kiki waved to them as she split from the group. Turning a corner, she grabbed the ears of Jiraiya and Naruto, dragging them behind her. When she got a safe distance away, she gazed at them wickedly. Naruto just stared with an, _oh crap _look, and Jiraiya was doing the same. When Kiki put her face near Naruto's, he flinched, ready for a slap, but opened his eyes in surprise when she kissed his cheek.

"Welcome back, squirt!" she cooed, laughing. Turning to Jiraiya, she stated, "You too, toad boy!" She hugged Jiraiya as a child would hug their father.

He hugged her back, acting as a father-figure should (I know, call me crazy and stick a fork in my eye, but he's the best father-figure she has, since she only knew her father for six months before he died…I'll be a little more in depth about the death later on, just bear with me please!!).

"Is there something going on here that I should know about?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

Kiki laughed, "Well…"

"What she's trying to say is that, since I have no biological children, and since her parents are dead, I'm like her father figure," Jiraiya stated bluntly. Naruto just stared at them, bewildered.

"Now then, you both spied on Tsunade, Shizune, and me while we were in the women's baths. Hmm…Tsunade said that you both have sewer duties this afternoon, and…" she stated before abruptly punching their heads together, "that's my punishment for you. Don't be late for the sewer duties. Oh, and Tsunade wants you in her office ASAP. Got it? Good."

She walked off, bag in hand, thrown behind her shoulder. Looking back, she smirked, and then jumped to the tops of the trees and raced home. When she got in, she grabbed her belt, made of silver living metal with a black opal clasp. The design was intricate, and it was never wider than one inch. She placed her "forehead protector" around her pants, just above her knee, and tied it into place. The silver dragon was placed around her upper arm, and her swords were clipped to the belt.

A few hours later, Kiki had dinner cooking, and there was a knock on the door. She opened it to see Naruto standing there. The smell of soap filled her highly sensitive nose, and she opened the door wider to allow him to enter. He walked over to the table, and she motioned him up the stairs. Walking into the fabric room, she walked over to the one wall and pulled shades of orange down from the wall. Settling for a pastel orange, and a cream for the shirt, she measured him, created a magical replica, and let the magic flow.

Walking out of the room, she ushered him onto the roof. They sat there, and she asked, "What's up?"

"That's my question! What's up between you and Ero-sennin?!" he asked quickly.

She looked taken aback, but then he smiled. The smile quickly faded, and she looked at the roof shingles sadly. "Jiraiya… is the closest thing to a father that I have."

"What about your real parents?" he asked.

Sorrow crossed her eyes, and a tear ran down her cheek, "My parents died when I was four. I only saw them twice."

"How did you only see them twice in four years?"

"The day I was born, my twin brother and I were stolen from my mother. I escaped three months before my fourth birthday, and was found by the king of the thieves, one of my brother's best friends. My brother found me and took me to the palace, where my mother recognized me. After that, I trained in the Shang, and the only other time I saw her was when I watched, helpless, as she died. Three months later, I saw my father for the second time, when he had staged a hunting accident, but had killed himself because he loved her too much to be without her.

"After that, I mastered the Shang, and came to Konoha to become a ninja. I met the fourth Hokage, and the Sannin, and I learned jhutsu from them. Orochimaru was the most supportive of my learning new jhutsu. He taught me many of the snake jhutsu, and taught me the snake summoning. Tsunade taught me basic healing when she was in town, which was a rare occurrence.

"Most of the time, however, I was either with the Fourth, or with Jiraiya. The Fourth would always talk to me and make me smile, and Jiraiya and I would always get in and out of trouble," she laughed, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Looking at him, she had smiling eyes, but lips trembled as she said, "When the Fourth died, the only one who could speak to me was Jiraiya. Occasionally, Orochimaru would come to talk to me, and he would try to get me to cheer up. I kept hanging onto the legacy that was left behind, and I kept the memories close to myself. He lives on in you, Naruto. You don't know how alike the two of you are; since you make friends with everyone you meet. You have the same personalities, and…"

Her vision clouded, and she started to sob softly into her shirt. He didn't know what to do, so he waited until her sobs subsided. Looking at him, she wiped her eyes and whispered, "Sorry. As I was saying, I talked with Jiraiya as much as I could, and he became like a father that I had never known. I started in the academy, and he left on missions, still chatting with me when he came back."

"You're lucky to have so many friends, Kiki-chan. When I was younger, I never had many friends, and I was always treated as an outcast. No one knows what it's like, to be treated that harshly. But, I have friends now, so it doesn't matter."

"Nii-san, you don't know how much I can relate to your experiences. Look," she stated, pulling the left leg of her pants up to her mid-thigh. A large scar was on her leg, and when he looked at it, he grimaced.

"How did that happen?" he asked as she replaced her pants leg. Getting up, she motioned for him to follow as she walked back to the room with the fabric.

Once inside, she closed the door and picked up the clothes. Tossing them to him, she pointed to the dressing room/closet at the end of the room. "Try those on please. I'll tell you while I fix the problems."

He tried them on, and she started to stain-proof the garments once he had changed back into his normal outfit. She let her magic spill into the cloth, and formed it into a protective sheet. Sighing, she stated, "Once, when I was two, I had tried to escape from where I was being held, because the men were beating us. Both of my eyes were black, my shoulder had been popped out of its socket until I put it back in, and I was running for all that I was worth. When the man caught up to me, he slapped my face, causing that to turn black and blue, and he burned my leg, hoping that it would teach me a lesson in obedience. Even then, nobody knew about my magic. It didn't appear until my father died, the day after I mastered the Shang.

"I tried everything that I could to heal the scar, but nothing worked, so it will always be a painful reminder of some of the things that I have been through. Sometimes I wish I could have lived your life, but I know that my power was destined to be held in my hands, and that my life would always be one surprise after another. Anyway, let's go get the table ready for everyone who's going to be eating."

"I don't really know if I wanna stay for dinner…" he mumbled.

Kiki laughed, "After I bored you to death, the least I can do is give you a warm meal! By the way, be here an hour before sunrise tomorrow morning, please. I want to spend some time in Tortall before the party, because I can't stand parties."

They walked downstairs, turned into the hallway, and Kiki opened the door to the basement. Igniting her hand, she walked down the stairs and led him to the weapons wall. She held up different swords for him to hold, but none of them fit his hand perfectly .At the last one, she stopped, inspected it, and held it in her hand. This was the sister blade to her dragon blades, and she was planning on giving it to Neji, or using it as a replacement.

Handing it to Naruto, he unsheathed it and looked at the intricate pattern, and tried to wield the sword. The hilt was too thick, built for her hands instead of his. He resheathed it, shook his head, and handed it back to her. Frowning, she took her key and opened a door hidden behind the rack of swords.

Motioning for him to follow, she walked into the room and lit them with the white fire, burning slow, hot, and extremely bright. She walked over to the silver, and grasped one of the sheets. She grabbed some living metal fire the hilt, and asked Naruto to hold it in his hand, so that it would mold to that shape before she fired it. She grabbed black opal, and placed that in the end of the hilt as Naruto held it. Taking his hand, she pulled some of his chakra from it.

As he struggled against her, she stated calmly, "Stop, I'm only taking a bit so that I can infuse it into the sword. But, I'm also going to have to extract some chakra from the nine-tails. Okay?"

"Sure," he replied as he stopped struggling. He dove inside of himself and found himself with the kyuubi. Seconds later, Kiki appeared next to him.

"What do you want, dragon girl?" he asked angrily, "The last thing I heard of you, you were missing. You think that you can just come in here when you please and do as you please?"

Kiki walked over to him and grinned evilly. She placed her hand on his nose, and forced him back into the bars. Slapping the seal tag, she renewed part of it, hoping that the seal would stay strong so that nobody had to renew it. Grasping his chin, she withdrew a small amount of chakra, letting it flow in her hand.

"Thank you for your wondrous donation, Kyuubi. I look forward to seeing you when I renew the seal again!" she cooed, disappearing from the room. Naruto left after her, and when his eyes opened to the real world, she was molding the chakra into the sword, strengthening it with her own magic and chakra.

She bit her finger, and let a drop of blood trickle onto the sword. Healing the wound, she motioned for Naruto to do the same. He bit his finger, and let his blood drop onto the sword. Taking her magic, she formed it into a large flame, and formed the sword to the exact contours. She molded the hilt, forming a fox with nine sweeping tails, which grasped the hilt. She placed the hilt onto the sword, and placed the blade into the sheath. Handing him the sword, she led him out of the room, back up the stairs, and into the kitchen.

_I hope you like this chapter, since in this chapter she opens up about her past to somebody. Normally, she doesn't tell people anything of her past. Anyway, please review!! I love to hear your responses!!! _


	18. Familiar Faces

Familiar Faces

_I only own the characters Kiki, Shade, Luna, Suncry, Sunstorm, and Moonstorm. The other characters are not mine (though I wish they were)! _

The next day, an hour and a half before dawn, Naruto arrived, his sword strapped to his back. Kiki laughed, and pulled it off of his back, placing it at its proper place, strapped to his clothes and resting at his hip. She stood next to Neji, her hair its full length, held back by a jade ribbon at the small of her back.

She wore a light green, traditional Chinese shirt with sleeves cut off above her silver living metal armband, a pair of black pants ending below her knees, and black sandals. Neji was dressed in his normal outfit, but was wearing a blue top and black pants instead of the cream top and brown pants. Luna wore a shirt that was an overwhelming shade of crimson, and the black pants and sandals.

Lee stood next to her in his normal attire, Shika also wearing his normal attire, minus the chunin vest. Shade was wearing an outfit completely identical to Kiki's, with the exception of the armband, and the fact that Kiki carried her twin blades, while Shade was only wearing one. Around their waists rested the intricately carved silver belt with the black opal clasp. The three girls stood in the group, and transported them to the realm of Tortall.

They came into an open field, scaring the pages practicing there. A red-haired knight saw them and walked over. She was followed by a man with raven black hair. When she stopped, Shika noticed that her eyes were the same shade of Amethyst as Shade's eyes, but Kiki's were paler, with blue mixed in.

"It's about time you came, Kiki! The pages are driving us nuts!" the woman cried. She laughed and Kiki grinned. Turning to Luna and Shade, she stated, "Merciful mother, you two have changed entirely! Did you age while we didn't?!"

"Actually…it's long story. But, yes, we did age while you didn't."

"Anyway, it's good to see the three of you!" to the four boys she added, "I'm pleased to meet you four as well! I am Alanna, and you are?"

"Neji Hyuga."

"I'm Shikamaru."

"My name is Rock Lee."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

"Well, you four, it's nice to meet you!" the man said, "My name is Jonathan, and I am the older brother of Kiki, Shade, and Luna. Please, just call me Jon."

"Jon, what you're failing to mention is... mmph!" Shade stated, as Kiki and Luna clapped their hands over her mouth.

"Hehehe…anyway, who wants to go practice?" Kiki asked.

They came to the fence where two of the pages were having a mock sword battle. Kiki stepped into the ring, and watched the two pages fight, swinging blindly at one another. When they stopped, they were out of breath. They walked out of the ring, and Kiki entered the center. Her shoes were on the ground at the fence, her swords resting there as well. A practice sword was in her hand as she waited for an opponent to step forward. An overly confident page stepped into the ring, an evil smile on his face.

"I'll try to go easy on you, miss!" he sneered, his sword at the ready.

"BEGIN!" Jon shouted. He thrust the sword towards her neck, but in a flash, he was on the ground, her blade's point resting at the base of his neck, his sword sliding across the ground of the ring.

"First rule of combat, over confidence is enough to get you killed, keep a level head, and don't get overly cocky, because if we were in a real battle, you would have been dead before the words finished leaving your lips."

He stood up when the sword tip left his neck, and walked to the side of the arena to retrieve his sword. He turned back to her and stated, "This time I won't hold back. I'm going to show you why I came here."

He lunged at her wordlessly, and she sidestepped, hitting the back of his head with the flat of her sword. He fell to the ground, rolled, and turned back to her. For every blow he struck, she blocked him lightly. He was leaving so many openings, mostly at his head, so she smacked him with the flat of the blade whenever he left an opening.

_If this kid was in a war, he'd be dead by now, _she thought, seeing a large opening. _At least the kid has some guts, but it's evident that he's tiring. _The boy was panting, sweat was trickling into his eyes, and Kiki wasn't anywhere near breathing heavily. She swept her sword in an arc that he was incapable of seeing, disarmed him again, and placed the tip of her practice sword against his throat.

Seven Hours Later

Neji, who had been watching with his byakugan, smiled. A page stepped out of the ring, and was replaced by Alanna. They took fighting stances, and when Jon said, "BEGIN!" they took off in a flurry of blocks, parries, and attacks. They raced around the room, neither gaining, nor losing ground. For fifteen minutes, the pages watched in awe as their swift movements made wielding a sword look easy. For fifteen minutes, Neji watched with his byakugan, seeing every parry, block, and attack in full detail. For fifteen minutes, they fought.

A crowd had gathered around the arena to watch. Raul came over and elbowed Jon. "They're at it again, are they?" he asked, his broad grin accenting his laughing eyes, which never left the fight.

"It's like two rivals, but they always enjoy their battles. Besides, it gives them something to do nonstop for about half an hour."

Suddenly, Kiki took the sword into the sweeping arc she had learned for her dragonstorm, and her sword tip rested against Alanna's throat. They stopped moving, and Kiki pulled her sword back. Both women were smiling, and Alanna asked, "Where'd you learn that move? I haven't seen it before."

"Diamondflame taught it to me when he taught me the dragonstorm."

At Alanna's raised eyebrow, she walked over to her blades and placed them in her hands. Going into the clearing, she drew a circle below and above her with fire from the blades. Her left blade was pointed towards the ground, her right blade pointed towards the sky.

She spun, the fire following the path of the blades, the swords coming to her center, spinning faster. She walked out, melded the blades into one, which lengthened dramatically, and then jumped up to its center. In the sweeping arc she had used to defeat Alanna, she brushed her sword against the flames. It flew in the direction of a large boulder amidst the clearing, taking on the forms of multiple dragons, and hit the boulder with a brutal force, causing it to be completely destroyed.

She separated the blades, placed them in their hilts, and clipped the hilts onto her belt. Walking to her sandals, she pulled them on, walking past the onlookers and into the palace. Behind her, Neji, Lee, Shika, Luna, Shade, and Naruto trotted, catching up when she opened the door.

They walked inside and past intricately carved statues, following many hallways into larger corridors. They took a flight of stairs to the next level and walked down the hallway. Luna led Lee to his room, and Shade led Shika to his, telling Naruto that his room was next to Shika's. Kiki walked along the hall a little bit more, and showed Neji his room, walking through a door in the wall that connected it to hers. (Don't worry, you can lock it from BOTH sides… and they aren't THAT sick…)

Kiki closed the door, but forgot to lock it, and walked over to her closet. She pulled out her earbobs, her dress, and her heeled sandals. Locking her door to the hall, she pulled the curtains to her balcony, and peeled her shirt off. Taking her undershirt, she pulled it off to replace it with one that had no straps. Suddenly, there was a rap on the door and Neji walked in. She squealed, and hid her breasts with her hair.

His face turned red, and she crossed her arms over her hips, since her hair covered her chest completely, but he noticed the scar on her hip. His eyes looked surprised, and she stepped back, tripping on the chest below her bed. He grabbed her back before she fell, and they both turned a deeper crimson.

"Should I get my formal clothes on now?" he asked, pulling her up. She looked at his face, and noticed his eyes looking at her scar again. He looked into her eyes, "May I ask how you got that?"

"When I was two, I was beaten by the men who held me captive. I ran away once, and he burned me. It goes down to my leg, but I don't want you to see that yet."

His lips brushed against hers, and he walked back to his room, "I'm going to get ready now, sorry about earlier."

He closed and locked the door, and she pulled her strapless bra on. She took her belt off, and pulled the dress over her body. She placed the belt over the dress, and traded her flat sandals for ones with a heel. The green dress ruffled slightly, and she placed her jade earbobs in her ears. Walking out of the room, she ran into Shika, who was about to knock.

"Is everything okay in there? I heard you trip over something."

She nodded. Walking down the hall, Lee, Luna, and Shade waved. Neji walked over and hugged Kiki around the waist, his hands wrapping together at her naval. She squeaked, and he let go, laughing. Naruto walked over, and he grinned. Together, they walked to the ball room, all looking at one another briefly.

The man smiled, and bowed to Kiki. She looked shocked, but when the right door opened, he stated, "Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto gulped and walked down the stairs. He bowed to Jon, who was in the King's throne, and Jon greeted him with a friendly smile and a handshake. Kiki pulled on her left earbob, hating the party already.

"Everyone, you're up," he stated as the doors opened, "Duchess Kiki of Conté, Neji Hyuga, Duchess Luna of Conté, Rock Lee, Duchess Shade of Conté, and Shikamaru."

During the Party

Kiki, Luna, and Shade were talking, Kiki snatching glances over to the balcony every now and then. She excused herself, and walked out onto the balcony, talking to Alanna, who hated parties as much as Kiki. After a few minutes, Kiki walked back into the room, looking around for someone.

She gasped as a stampede of young children raced towards her. She kneeled down and stretched her arms out, nearly falling backwards as they hugged her. She smiled, and they let go, Kiki pulling something from behind her back. She placed something on each of their shoulders, and they ran over to Jon and Thayet to show them the gifts she had given them.

Walking over to Neji, she smiled and stated, "Did I ever tell you how much I hate parties?"

He looked at her, surprised, and she smiled again. Their group walked over to Jon, and then excused themselves from the party. Kiki held the side of her head with her hand after they left the room. Her head hurt so much, for there had been so much alcohol in the room. Neji glanced at her worriedly and tried to figure out what had happened.

"He should know that if there's too much alcohol in a room at once, I get a monstrous headache. I guess he just doesn't remember."

They walked to Shade's room and sat around the fireplace. It was a cold night in Tortall, and the breeze chilled them to the bone. Kiki sneezed, the last of the alcohol scent leaving her nose. Her eyes blinked slowly, and she got up, apologized, and walked across the hall to her room. Neji followed, doing the same, and walked into the hall as she closed her door.

He walked into his room, unlocked the door connecting their two rooms, and opened it. He peered into her room, and saw her sitting at the window, her hair cascading over her shoulders, falling to the floor. Her eyes looked over to him, and she smiled, her lips crooking ever so slightly. She turned her gaze back to the open window, and flinched when his hand rested on her shoulder.

His breathing was next to her ear, and he whispered, "You never told me about the mark on your leg."

Her lower lip trembled for an instant, before she wiped it off of her face. She hugged Neji around the shoulders, and buried her face in the crook of his neck. That was when, for the first time since she had seen Itachi, she wept. Her tears overflowed down her face, and he comforted her, his hand rubbing her hair. She grasped his neck tightly, and he prodded her arm, hoping that he could get some air into his lungs.

"Sorry Neji! I didn't mean it!" Kiki croaked out, her eyes red, her cheeks filled with rivulets of tears.

Neji was nervous, since she had never been like this before. She smiled meekly before turning and looking out through the window, her eyes still sad. She looked at him, sighed, and stated, "You asked me earlier about the scar on my leg. Well, I got it when I was two, after I tried to run away. Mt twin brother and I had been taken from our mother the day we were born, and we had been held captive by my cousin's men. When we wouldn't say anything, when we would say something, they would beat us. I fled one day when I was two.

"The one man chased me, and caught up to me on horseback. We were in the middle of the forest, so he slapped me, and he burnt the clothing in that leg, burning the skin beneath it to look like a dragon-shaped birthmark. My cousin found out, and he killed the man, healing my leg afterward, but he was only able to heal half of it. The rest is just a painful reminder of my past, the reason why I live every day to its fullest, and the reason why I protect my friends with my life."

Kiki looked at him again, and she sobbed into his shoulder, not knowing why she was so upset. It hurt to say the words, but she normally didn't cry like this. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and sat down on her bed. His lips brushed over her cheek, and she felt a pang of guilt. She had kissed Itachi, even though he hadn't known. She felt dirty, but as her tears subsided, so did her consciousness.

Neji got up, patted her shoulder, and woke her up. She blinked slowly, and then walked into her closet, pulling her dress over her head and replacing it with her pajamas (the door WAS closed, and Neji was NOT in the closet…). She opened the door and walked out, sitting on the bed next to Neji. He hugged her shoulders, and she fell asleep, holding him tightly. When he tried to pull away, he felt her iron grip around his waist, and knew that he wouldn't be able to escape without waking her. She pulled him tighter into her arms, her head in the crook of his neck.

"Kiki-chan, could you let me go please?" he whispered, hoping that her subconscious would respond.

One of her eyes opened slowly, and she asked, "Neji-san, what are you doing?"

"Well, you fell asleep and I couldn't break the iron death grip you had on me…" he laughed nervously. Her eyes blinked tiredly, and she released him from her arms.

He walked over to his room, and closed the door mostly, leaving a small gap. She blinked, and then rested her head onto her pillow. All that night she tossed and turned, her memories coming back.

_She raced through the trees, her lungs burning, her legs fumbling in the tree roots. She heard the horse behind her, and she stumbled briefly, before her hair was grasped roughly. She was dragged along through the underbrush that whipped at her skin, leaving welts and scratches across her body. She was thrown into a tree trunk as the man dismounted. He stood over her frail, beaten body, his hand grasping her chin. _

_His hand pulled away quickly before he slapped her face, causing her cheek to go numb and for her vision in her right eye to cloud briefly. She tasted the blood in her mouth, and she cried out in pain as a searing heat roared up her leg. Grasping her by her hair again, he dragged her limp body back to the place where she was being held, but when Roger saw her face and her leg, the man's head soared through the air, his body falling limply to the floor. She screamed, for she was only two. _

A hand on her shoulder woke her, and she stared into the eyes of Neji. There was frantic knocking on the door, and when Neji opened it, everyone stepped in. Kiki's head was in her hand, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Neji came back over, Shade and Luna holding Kiki. They had grown up in luxury, sheltered from the world by their mother, until her death when they were two.

Jon's worried face glanced in, and Kiki looked at him, sorrow held in every place in her heart. He nodded to her, she smiled weakly, and then he left. The crowd dissipated, and only Kiki, Neji, and Naruto were left.

"Nee-san, are you alright?" Naruto asked worriedly. She looked at him, and her eyes were filled with a deep sorrow.

"I was remembering…about the time when I was two. I saw a man lose his head that day, and I know that the image will be in my mind for as long as I continue to look into my past, and when I hold onto things that make me who I am. I'm sorry if I worried you, Naruto Nii-san. Go back to bed please."

Naruto walked over to his room, closing the door behind him as Neji closed Kiki's door. She looked at her sheets, her face pale and white, her hands gripped tightly against the cloth. Neji sat down next to her, and held her against his chest in a similar embrace as the one Itachi had held her in. She looked at him, her head tilting back. Her eyes were a misty blue (only shown as that when she's in deep sorrow or pain), and she now appeared identical to many of the relatives in the Conté line.

She stared into his pale eyes, and she smiled, her eyes becoming more of the periwinkle tint. She stated, her voice, soft and filled with sadness "Whenever I'm near someone who I care for deeply, I can always smile. To know that everyone cares so much, it just makes everything seem so much better than the situation implies."

Neji smiled back at her, knowing that she was still half asleep. He tried to imagine what it had been like for her to live that way, beaten even when she hadn't done anything wrong. Just because she was alive, just because of who she was she was put through that torture. Everyone was lucky, even if the didn't realize it. They were lucky that she was still sane. _We can even question the existence of her sanity at times, _he thought.

While deep in his thoughts, he was brought back by a gentle hug. She hugged around his chest, her head looking through the windows. Looking back up, she felt his lips brush against her cheek, and she smiled. His lips engulfed hers, and he pulled back quickly. He smiled and got up, leaving her on her bed.

"Good night, I'll see you in the morning." He closed the door and sat on his bed, thinking over the night's events.

_Well, if she wants any MORE comforting, she can always come over. It's the middle of the night, and I'm tired. All that I want at the current moment is to sleep, but I can't if I keep worrying like this. Wait, did the door just open? I must be seeing things. _

Neji yawned, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of reptilian eyes look at him from the doorway. He raised his eyebrow, and they disappeared back into Kiki's room. He walked to the doorway, and looked around the corner. All he saw was a pair of eyes as Kiki kissed him, her arms on his shoulders. She removed her lips, and he smiled.

Grabbing her, he placed her on her bed. Her eyes opened widely, and he smiled, bending down and kissing her, stooped at the side of the bed. She returned his kiss, but she was still wary, not knowing what he was thinking of. He pulled her closer, her chest flat against his own. She gasped as his one finger traced down her spine, sending shivers coursing through her body.

He released the kiss, and placed her onto her mattress, as she looked at him. _Now here's someone who can control his urges, just like Itachi. _He walked over to the door once more and stepped through, lying on his bed and falling asleep. He heard the door click shut, and he listened for Kiki's footsteps to walk to her bed.

When he heard none, he thought, _it's just like Kiki to use magic to close the door. _Suddenly, he felt something on his forehead and opened his eyes.

Kiki smiled and stated, "I'm going to go train at the practice grounds since there's only an hour until dawn. I'll see you at breakfast!"

She jumped out of his window, and landed gracefully. She followed the path to the pond, and she stopped to inspect the plants around it. She gracefully glided across the water, jumping into an arc in the air, the water spiraling around her hand. She landed, the water streaming behind her hands as she twisted and spun. The water curved for a final time, and then rested back onto the glassy surface.

_I hope that this chapter was as good as the rest! Her secrets and her past are being revealed bit by bit, but will they be too much for her loved ones to take? Anyway, please review! _


	19. A Promise Reforged

The Promise Reforged

_Okay, they're back to Konoha!! FINALLY!!! Anyway, DISCLAIMER: I only own Kiki, Shade, Suncry, Sunstorm, Luna, and Mooncry. Anyway, ENJOY!!! _

He sat in the silence, waiting for the storm to break as a jagged blade of lightning shredded the air. _Just a few more hours, and she'll be back. Let's see if she can leave so quickly THIS time. _He looked to his right and saw the dark shadow in the entrance. The man smiled, knowing that she would easily fall into his trap. The only thing he worried about was how they would keep her restrained. _Oh well, I'll figure it out when I need to._

"Should I head out yet? The storm is about to break, and I'll need to get her here before the lightning strikes."

When he nodded, the shadow raced into the storm, headed to Konoha.

Kiki stretched, yawning and working the cramps from her back. The wind ruffled around the group, and Kiki smiled to the oncoming storm. Waving to the others, she took off through the trees, heading for her practice spot. She sat on the cliff and looked out at the storm. The tingling, crackling sensation of lightning before it strikes hit her nostrils, and when her eyes opened, she saw a shadow sitting on the rock, facing her.

The lightning cracked behind him, and she blinked. In that blink, he was behind her, a kunai held at her throat. She croaked out a laugh, and disappeared in a small flame. She stood where he had been sitting, her hair flying around her, carried by the wind. He stood up and looked at her, his eyes giving away no emotion. The clouds let loose, and she was surrounded in searing tendrils of electricity.

He gazed at her, and he himself connected to the clouds as the energy burst into his veins. She gazed at him through the lightning, and noticed a difference in the lightning. The electric currents had trace amounts of chakra flowing in them, and she noticed that the shadow was the source of the chakra.

She disconnected from the electricity, but by the time she did so, she knew the damage had already been done. Her left sword was in her hand, and she swept past him, nicking his shoulder. _My aim's off? _She felt hands grip her stomach, and she gasped when one hand gripped her left hand. The sword was replaced in its sheath, and his hand was back to her stomach.

His breath came on her ear, and a chill went down her spine. He chuckled slightly, and his chin rested in the crook of her neck. She glanced back to look at him, but all she saw was his black hair. The shadow picked her up, watching when her legs kicked out. He dug his chin down, and she winced as it hit her nerve.

Her body refused to continue moving, and her eyes widened slightly. Chuckling a little, he placed his hand at her knees, and jumped off of the cliff, noting slightly that he was being followed. He smirked, and pin wheeled through the trees, landing on a branch, the temporarily paralyzed Kiki in his lap. She looked at him, trying to determine who he was, when liquid ice ran through her veins. Her magic had burned the residual chakra from her system, and she was able to move, yet she didn't want him to know it unless a fight started.

He looked at her, smiled, and sat her on the tree, grabbing kunai from the air as they soared towards him. She sat there, looking at him, trying to remember who he reminded her of.

"So, little brother has your master asked you to bring Kiki to him?" asked a voice she knew all too well. The attacker walked into the clearing, his face somewhere between angry and amused.

Without warning, the shadow attacked him, and they were a tangled mass of attacks and blocks. Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her neck. _Oh crap. _She grasped the thing, pulled it over her head, and swung it around with quick precision. The man at the other end went flying, landing on the shadow. She pulled him back, and he landed straight on her fist.

"What do you want…Orochimaru?" she asked crudely.

"Well, it's been a while Kiki," he stated, standing up. She still had a firm grip on his tongue, but he didn't seem t care. "It seems that you have been eluding me all too often, so I decided to pay a visit."

"Yeah, and I'm as blind as a bat!" Kiki spat back. She whipped her hand to the left, and he landed on the shadow again.

Walking over, she picked up the shadow. Turning him around, she sneered, "Wouldn't it be sad if I took your next body, right before the current one expires?"

Then, suddenly, they both disappeared. She turned, looking at Itachi, who was standing in the clearing. He walked over to her, and she turned quickly, punching a tree with her fist. "I was so close from taking the one thing that he needs the most, but I lost them. Why? What was there that I wasn't able to see?" she asked him, hunched on her arm against the tree.

His hands pulled her over, and he stated, "Things happen, Kiki. They happen whether we want them to or not. Did you want me to leave when I did?"

"That's not the point," she replied, her eyes full of anger, her voice wavering with it. She looked back at him. "The point is that he can still use your _brother _as a body. Even if you don't care, I do. He doesn't deserve to have his life cut short just because of another man's ambitions. Besides, imagine what would happen if he had Uchiha blood to use against the world."

He looked slightly shocked at her. She looked at him, her rage still spilling out. She had reached the point where she was about to snap. Itachi knew from experience, if Kiki snapped, people could die. He raised his eyebrows, mentally saying, _and the pot boiled over. _

_Who asked you? Last time I was this mad, I can't remember what I did! _

_I remember, and believe me, it wasn't pretty. The men that attacked you nearly died. It was something that scared me, and I wasn't scared easily back then, either. _

Her eyes widened slightly, and she looked down. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip, and she held up a ball of magic. Looking into the purple fire, she whispered, "Tsunade-sama. I have a new lead on Sasuke. May I have permission to follow him?"

"Go ahead, but use caution. Call me if you need backup Kiki!"

"Of course I will. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Very well, I expect you back as soon as you find out if the lead works out." Tsunade replied before ending the connection.

Kiki felt Itachi's hand rested on her shoulder, and she felt her anger subsiding. Kisame stepped into the clearing, and she glanced at him. She took her hand and placed it around her hair at the middle of her back. Taking her hand, she brought it around and whacked the hair off with a kunai in her other hand, just above that hand. They looked at her, but she just shrugged it off. Her magic burned the hair, and she walked away, until Itachi's arm, still on her shoulder, locked out.

She glared at him, but her eyes softened slightly when he whispered, his mouth next to her ear, "We'll help you, so that you don't get out numbered. Now if you'll calm down, we could find them more easily."

She smiled, "You don't have to tell me that twice…" She hugged Itachi quickly, whispering, "Thank you Itachi-san! You don't know what this means to me."

His hand rested on top of her head, and he whispered, "Just tell us where he is, Kiki. Let's go and find Sasuke."

Kisame looked at him, unable to believe what he had just heard Itachi say. Itachi nodded to him, and he felt a bit calmer, knowing that Itachi trusted Kiki with his life. Kiki's distant gaze looked over at him, and she walked past him, Itachi (still grasping her shoulder) being dragged along behind her.

At the cliff, she stopped and gazed at them. "From here on out we have to fly, so I'm going to ask you to hold onto Suncry." At the mention of her name, Suncry swooped down to Kiki's shoulders. She stood on the ground as the two Akatsuki members hopped onto her back. Kiki smiled and jumped off of the cliff as Suncry took flight. She opened her wings and shot up into the air, tilting the edges of the wings slightly. She soared next to them, smiling at the pure joy of flight.

Her gaze drifted below her, and she followed the path that her magic led. Suddenly, it disappeared under a pile of rocks, and it didn't lead anywhere else. She pointed to the formation below her, and they set down. She pulled in her wings, and landed on the rocks, causing a slight vibration, one that you could only find if you knew what to feel for.

Suncry landed beside her, Itachi and Kisame dismounting and thanking her. Kiki motioned to them, and they crept silently to the rock formation. Kiki followed her magical vision, and walked into the entrance of the hideout. Itachi and Kisame stood on either side of her, and they prowled through the hallways, following Kiki. She held her hand up, and they halted, looking around warily.

Kiki knelt down to the doorknob, which she knew to be locked, and gazed at it. She smiled, knowing exactly what to do. From her belt, she produced a pouch, which she hastily unrolled, revealing an assortment of lock picks. Itachi raised an eyebrow, but she dismissed it easily.

"You have the Baron of Pirate's Swoop, the former King of Thieves, to thank," she whispered calmly as she selected a tool. She placed the tool into the lock silently, she jostled it slightly. A nearly soundless click escaped from the lock, so she removed the pick, and silently pulled the door open.

They gazed into the dark room, and Kiki felt the presence of two people, both resting. She adjusted her eyes to those of the dragons, and noted that the people were Orochimaru and Kabuto. She held her left hand up, and backed up, closing the door just as silently as she had opened it.

_They were both asleep, but Sasuke is located somewhere else. _She sighed, and walked along the hallway, keeping her eyes reptilian. Kisame looked behind them, and Itachi watched their sides. Kiki slid her hair from her face, and she felt around for another presence in the base. She abruptly turned right, and ran (literally) directly into Sasuke.

He looked straight at her, his sharingan shining, but it did nothing to unsettle her. She merely grabbed his shirt and threw him against the wall. He gripped her arm, and his chidori nagashi raced along her body. She smiled, felling the comfort of the electricity, making Sasuke uneasy. She grasped his chin and peered into his eyes. He moved his chin, but her grasp was overpowering against the muscles in his neck.

"What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

"If you're annoyed, think about how I feel!" she hissed at him, before Itachi grasped her shoulder, applying a small amount of pressure to make sure that she didn't lose control of her anger. Bringing her hand up to his forehead, she placed her forefinger against his skin. Her voice laden with magic, she whispered, "Sleep."

His eyes brushed shut, and she caught him as he fell from the wall. One of her hands rested beneath his back as she lifted him, while the other was beneath his knees. She looked silently at Itachi, and he smiled at her. Kisame followed them, and they emerged in the light. Itachi and Kisame boarded Suncry, and Kiki sprouted her wings. Still grasping Sasuke, she took to the air, tightening her grip so that he wouldn't fall. His head was against her chest, and she looked at him, remembering when he was younger, and he had always looked adorable when he was asleep.

One of his eyes slowly opened, and caught her smiling at her. He froze, and she noticed his muscles tighten. _Guys, we have a situation here! _They looked at her as Sasuke struggled to move. She smiled even more, watching his movements.

"You know, Sasuke, you were cuter when you were asleep!" she whispered into his ear. He looked at her nastily, and she ran her magic through his veins, causing him to fall asleep again.

They reached the cliff, and she set down, Suncry next to her. Itachi hopped off of Suncry and walked over to Kiki, grasping her from behind, wrapping his arms on her shoulders loosely. Sasuke opened his eyes, saw them, and froze. Kiki smiled at him, and Itachi looked at him awkwardly. He looked confused, and Kiki giggled, Itachi smiling at his brother.

Sasuke was taken aback by this, and Kiki looked at him worriedly. She placed him on the ground, still holding onto him, her hand grasping the back of his neck (humans are like cats, they freeze up when you grab the back of their neck tightly). She peered at him with her magic, noted that everything was fine, and sighed. Her other arm wrapped around his shoulder, and she hugged him tightly, unable to remember the last time the three of them had been together like this.

His eyes widened into large discs, and he looked up at Itachi, one eyebrow raised. Itachi shrugged, and Sasuke scowled at him. Kisame, who was watching in the distance, laughed slightly. All three pairs of eyes looked at him, and he gulped, walking over to Suncry to talk to her. Kiki smiled, and looked at Sasuke.

"Why? Why did you leave Konoha, hmm?" she whispered into his ear. She hugged him tightly again, and he gasped for breath.

"Kiki…KIKI!!! You're choking him," Itachi stated calmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sasuke," Kiki stated apologetically. He looked at her silently, trying to locate an emotion in her eyes, only finding worry, loyalty, and…love?

Itachi knelt beside Kiki, and Sasuke glared at him. Kiki cleared her throat, meaning she was agitated, and he glared at her. Annoyed, she clasped her fingers holding the skin in the back of his neck together, and he winced in pain (believe it or not, people, it DOES hurt!!!).She loosened her fingers, and he looked at her calmly.

Kiki placed a finger under his chin and stated, "I'm not going to have you two killing each other while I'm around, understand?" They both nodded, and she sighed. Her eyes closed briefly, and she took a calming breath, careful not to let her agitation get the best of her. _Jon was right, I do need anger management lessons, sometimes. _

Her eyes slid open, and se picked Sasuke up, holding him as she had earlier. He glanced at her and whispered, "I can walk, you know."

"Does it look like we care?" she asked smoothly, smiling at him before planting a kiss on his forehead. He looked at her, and she laughed. Jumping, she landed lightly on Suncry, placing Sasuke in front of her, and clasping her hands around his waist. She waved to Itachi and Kisame, promising to talk to them at a later date.

Suncry rose into the air and raced to Konoha, where she flew over the gate, directly to the Hokage's Mansion. Kiki opened the window as Suncry landed on the roof, and Sasuke blinked wearily. Tsunade walked over, and Kiki jumped into the room, holding Sasuke's waist. Tsunade's eyebrow rose and Kiki shrugged.

"Well, well, if it isn't Uchiha Sasuke! We have some people still looking for you, but here you are, right in front of me."

Sasuke sneered, and Kiki tightened her grip around him, causing him to look back at her. He saw concern in her eyes, and he froze. One of his hands gripped her clasped ones and squeezed lightly, trying to lessen her concern. She placed her chin at the base of his neck and stated, "Would you consider returning to Konoha?"

He met her steady gaze with his own, unsure of how to answer her question. His eyes blinked, and when they opened, her eyes were closed. He knew she must have been in pain when Itachi left, and it only doubled when he left. He sighed, and her eyes opened, gazing directly at his own, reptilian pupils reminding him of Orochimaru.

_Well, I hope you liked it…another twist, hehe! _


	20. Yes, No, or Maybe? Sasuke's Answer!

Yes, no, or Maybe? Sasuke's Answer!

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters! Oh, and this will go past Sasuke's answer… I just had to think of a good title. _

Tsunade looked at the two, sighed, and went to work at her desk. Sasuke smirked slightly, and Kiki raised her right eyebrow. He catapulted over her shoulder and landed behind her, grasping her throat slightly. She peered back at him, and he smiled.

"What can I say; I just can't stay in one place for long. I'll consider it at a later date, Kiki. But for now, I'm going to leave it at that. I have too much to learn, but I promise you that I'll think about returning some day," he whispered in her ear, before racing from the window.

Kiki looked at Tsunade, who flapped her hand. She nodded, and followed him, hoping to be able to persuade him otherwise. She grasped his wrist, and he landed on a tree, Kiki landing next to him. She pressed him against the bark of the tree, and gazed into his eyes.

"Please, just consider it Sasuke."

He grasped the back of her neck lightly, and pushed it towards him. She felt his breath on her skin as he stated, "I'll consider it, Kiki-chan." She noticed that his actions and sayings resembled Itachi's almost completely. Her eyes softened, and he looked at her warily, unsure of what to say about this. Kiki grasped his chin, and placed a kiss on his forehead, backing away as far as his hand, still on her neck, would allow.

He smiled, released her, and watched as she went deeper into the forest, seeming to search for him. He knew that, in reality, she was probably searching for Itachi. Smirking, he raced off into the trees, heading back to Orochimaru's headquarters. He looked back, and watched as she was swallowed by the trees, before turning east, going deeper into the forest.

Kiki ran along, knowing that she would have to tell Tsunade that she hadn't been able to persuade him into staying. The line turned right, so she swooped down to it and followed the path to the cave behind the waterfall. Before she reached it, she felt two hands grasp her shoulders, and a voice asked, "What are you doing here?"

She turned to face Kisame, and she stated, "I'm here to see Itachi, and to thank the both of you for your help. Is that so bad?"

He released her shoulders, and watched as she walked to the entrance of the cave before returning to guarding it once more. _I hope that she knows what she's getting herself into, _he sighed.

Meanwhile, with everyone else!

"Luna, it's been a while. Are you sure we shouldn't see why she's late?" Shade asked, pacing the kitchen.

Neji walked into the room and stated, "Hokage-sama sent Kiki on a mission to find Sasuke, since she found a new lead. The mission is to be kept secret from the other ninja; for fear that word will get out. She should be coming home soon."

"Thank you, Neji. Shade was just about to drive me up the wall!" Luna exclaimed.

They sat down at the table, and ate lunch, all wondering why she had gone alone, instead of requesting backup. Shade knew that Kiki was sure of her powers, but she didn't know whether Kiki would be able to face off against her former mentor. Orochimaru was one of the people that Kiki was unable to picture battling, and she had confided this information to Shade and Luna once before.

Shade and Luna exchanged worried glances, and Neji raised a questioning eyebrow. They both shook their heads, and he looked back to the table, deep in thought. Shade stood up and grabbed the dishes, placing them in the sink. Luna washed them as Neji dried, and they went to the pool in the basement to practice.

Kiki

"What do you want?" Itachi asked, his back facing her.

She walked over to him, sat down behind him, and draped her arms around his shoulders, placing her mouth next to his ear. Quietly, she whispered, "I would have thought that you would like to know that your brother has not, as of yet, accepted or request to return to Konoha."

His hands gripped hers, and he pulled her arms from around his shoulders. Pulling them forward, he turned his body as she fell, and caught her, one hand grasping her stomach, turning her to face him. He placed his face inches from hers, grasped her by her forearms, and whispered, "If you find him, don't mention my name, because it will only make him angry. But, at the current moment, you owe me something for helping you out."

His hands still grasping her forearms, he pulled her up to his lips. She pulled her head away and stated, "I don't want to betray Neji, since we ARE dating."

Itachi smiled, and pulled her to his lips again, one hand moving to the back of her head, the other to her back. He pushed his lips over hers, and placed his tongue against the crease between her lips. She felt his hand press against her spine, and move up to rub against her shoulder blade. She shivered, and he pressed his tongue farther into her lips, Kiki finally caving and allowing him to deepen the kiss. His tongue danced with hers, and he pulled her against himself tightly.

He broke from the kiss and whispered, "I wonder why you're pulling yourself away from me more than usual. Is it because you're afraid to get caught, or because of your guilty conscious?"

She looked at him softly, and knew that he was right about the second one. She felt guilty, knowing that she was kissing someone besides Neji, the one she knew she was supposed to be dating. She grasped his jacket with one hand, and sat up against his chest. He kissed her again, and she felt his tongue glide through her lips. He pressed his face closer to hers, and unsnapped his jacket. She backed up a bit, but he pulled her tightly against himself.

He pulled his lips away briefly, catching a breath, and then kissed her again, this time more forcefully. Kiki was held uncomfortably against his chest as he pulled her tongue over into his mouth. She pushed her arms against his chest, but she knew that it was nearly impossible for her to escape. Itachi released her, and she moved from his grasp.

"I guess you were right, I feel guilty about kissing you instead of Neji. I hate the secrecy, and I just wish that I didn't have to face it day after day. I wish I didn't have to choose between someone who has been there for me for a long time and someone whom, in my opinion, is so different from you, that I wonder if it will ever work out between the two of us."

Itachi frowned, his expression one of sympathy and regret. "Kiki-chan, I'm… sorry if I placed you into an uncomfortable situation."

She placed her lips against his own, and kissed him deeply, knowing that the only thing that she was worried about was keeping their friendship forged. She parted from her kiss and whispered, "It's not that it was uncomfortable, but it just made me think of things that have happened recently. I still love you, but unless you are a Konoha shinobi, I am worried about a steady relationship."

He smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead, "I understand. If you ever need to talk to me, you know how to find me."

Kiki nodded, walked out of the cave, and headed for home. Sasuke's presence was dull in her mind's eye, the line connecting their minds thin. She nodded to Kisame as she passed him, and she headed towards Tsunade's mansion.

"Well?" Tsunade barked.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but I was unable to locate him. He has, metaphorically speaking, vanished." Kiki stated with her head bowed. She felt dizzy, and she wanted to curl up and fall asleep. _It seems as though the effects of Sasuke's chakra are finally having an effect on my body. _

"Very well, and, seeing as this was an undocumented mission, its failure will not be placed in the book."

Kiki nodded, excused herself from Tsunade's office warily, and took off for home. She landed on the roof, rested on her back with her hands clasped behind her head, and fell asleep in the mid-afternoon sun. She was engulfed by the darkness of unconsciousness immediately, and she stirred as she felt someone looking at her.

"Kiki."

She opened her left eye and gazed up at Neji, who was sitting next to her. He looked worried, and she raised her left eyebrow. The sun was setting, and she yawned.

"It's about time, since I called your name eleven times," he stated. Her eyes widened, and she sat up. She rubbed her head tiredly.

"How long have I been out?" Kiki asked softly.

"Oh, about seven hours, give or take."

"WHAT?!" she squeaked. He smiled and sat next to her.

"So, how did it go? Your mission, I mean."

Kiki blinked at him, and then stated, "It failed. Oh, and Shade, Luna, you can stop listening in on the conversation, I already know you're there."

Shade and Luna stepped out of the shadow of the window, embarrassed expressions on their faces. They sat down next to the two, and Kiki sighed. She immediately stood and went in the window, and the three looked at one another, nearly laughing when they heard the toilet flush.

She walked over to the window and asked, "Did you three eat yet?" They nodded their heads, and she turned a deep scarlet, "You know, the nice thing to do would have been to wake me up for dinner."

Shade burst out laughing while Luna was slapping her back to keep her from choking. Neji looked at Kiki, humor dancing in his eyes, "You remember how I told you I called your name eleven times to wake you up?"

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I created some of the events in this story based upon conversations I have with Lunaverserocks, and I love to write it based on my personal feelings. We all know that Sasuke cannot stay in Konoha, since he is with Orochimaru in Shippuuden (at least until he kills Orochimaru that is). Anyway, please review! _


	21. What!

What?!

_I do not feel like explaining the title, so I will not. Disclaimer: I only own Kiki, Luna, Shade, Suncry, Sunstorm, and Mooncry. I only wish I owned the other characters. _

Kiki was sitting at the table, sipping some tea, eating ramen, and listening to Neji talk about what went on during the day. The mint was calming her nerves, and she had found that she, like a cat, enjoyed the smell and the taste of catnip (she barely put any in her tea, and since she's allergic to alcohol, she had to find something).

"Then, you started to punch at the roof. We were surprised that you didn't break a hole in the ceiling. We didn't know you were even UP there until you nearly broke a window."

"WHAT?!" she shrieked. Her hands froze on the teacup that she was placing on the table.

Neji laughed, "I'm only kidding…mostly."

She picked up her chopsticks again and inhaled the ramen. The bowl was thrown to Shade, who was doing the dishes at the sink. Standing from the table, she refilled her cup of tea, and then descended down the stairs. She opened a door hidden in the shadows of the basement and walked inside. Once she closed the door, she locked it and placed a magical barrier around the room.

She fired up the kiln, grabbed a blob of molten glass onto the blowpipe, and started to spin it as she exhaled into the pipe. Grabbing another breath of air, she blew it steadily down the pipe, her magic flowing through it. The magic made the glass bulge slightly, before it formed a prancing wolf, which rested upon her hands.

He was around a foot long from head to rump, and had another four inches of tail. He sat down next to her, as if asking for a name. Kiki looked at him gently, and whispered, "Hello Wolfmourn." The wolf yipped slightly, as if greeting her, then curled up next to her and fell asleep.

She placed another glass blob onto the pipe, and she blew into it, forming it with her mind, not allowing it to take on its own shape. It formed into a fragile scrying orb, and Kiki stowed it in water to cool, preventing flaws and hardening the glass on impact. She turned the kiln off, cleaned the rod, and removed the vase from the water.

Moonstorm jumped onto her shoulder when she bent down to his height, and held the vase for her as she removed the magical seal, opened the door and climbed up the stairs. Kiki opened the door and walked into the kitchen, grasping the vase in Wolfmourn's mouth.

He released it, and she placed it underneath of the faucet, turning on the cold water. Filling it up halfway, she turned the faucet off, walked outside, and disappeared into the forest. Grasping some wild sage, she placed it in the vase, adding lilies and white roses Scarlet tulips were placed in to accent the white petals, and she padded off, towards the memorial stone.

Once she reached the clearing, she noticed Kakashi standing in front of it, smiling at his former teammate Rin. Kiki stayed where she was beneath a willow tree, and sat down. She placed the vase next to herself, and Wolfmourn curled up on her lap. She stroked the glass pup, rubbing her fingers over his "fur". Kakashi looked towards her, and Rin followed his glance.

Wolfmourn looked at them both sheepishly, and then raced from Kiki's lap over to the two staring ninja. He pranced around at Rin's feet, whining for her to pick him up. She obliged, smiling at him, and placed him on her shoulder. Kiki sighed and stood up, picking up the vase of flowers.

"Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked kindly, placing the flowers against the stone. Kakashi looked at her tiredly, but Rin smiled broadly.

"Kiki-chan, it has been a while! When did you get back?"

Kiki rubbed her head, "I'm not quite sure…"

Rin and Kakashi laughed at this, and Wolfmourn jumped over to Kakashi, pulling at his mask. Kakashi pried the curious glass pup from his mask, and let him lay on his arms. Rin looked at Wolfmourn and smirked, noting that the pup was chewing lightly on Kakashi's arm.

"What, may I ask is his name?" she inquired of Kiki.

"When I looked at him, he seemed to be screaming that his name is Wolfmourn."

She stroked the pup softly, "What a graceful name."

"He's a graceful walker too. I've never seen such a delicate stride from a glass wolf," Kiki replied. Wolfmourn looked at her happily before jumping, somersaulting in the air, and landing on Kiki's shoulder, nearly skidding off the back. She grasped him gently and turned him around, "We need to work on your landing, don't we?"

She waved a goodbye, and watched as they left the clearing. Kiki knelt down and smiled at the rock. Wolfmourn sent up a small howl, and she gazed at him with her right eye. He sniffed her cheek, and covered it in kisses, lightning sparking on his tongue. She laughed, pulled him into her arms, and walked to the Inuzukas' house.

She padded through the gate and knocked on the door, hoping that Kiba or his sister was home. Kiba opened the door, looked at what was in her arms, and burst out laughing. He motioned for her to enter, and she walked between Kiba and Akamaru, through the door, and into the room.

Akamaru sniffed her, and then covered her in a gigantic, wet kiss. She giggled lightly, and let Wolfmourn sniff at Akamaru. The glass dog jumped down, sniffed at Akamaru, and walked over to Kiba. Kiki watched him, and smiled as she stroked Akamaru's head absentmindedly.

Hana walked into the doorway to see what the commotion was all about, and smiled as Wolfmourn wobbled over to her and sniffed at her warily. She lowered her hand slowly, and was immediately greeted by the glass pup. He jumped up onto her hand, crawled up her arm, and sat calmly on her shoulder. She rubbed her hand across the top of his head lightly, and looked at Kiki.

"You remember what happened to the last one, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes." Kiki replied solemnly. Myst had reverted to her lifeless form an hour after she had been crafted. Kiki knew that it would happen to Wolfmourn as well. She looked at Wolfmourn sadly. "He's been alive for fifty minutes so far, he won't last to an hour."

"What do you mean by that?" Kiba asked.

"I keep having this weird feeling that he's going to freeze up in less than a minute, and I just…well, I don't know." Kiki sighed, placing one of her hands to her forehead. As soon as she looked at the pup, he took on a protective stance and froze.

Hana's eyes widened, Kiba looked at Kiki, and Kiki gasped in shock. She grasped the dog gingerly, picking Wolfmourn up from out of Hana's arms.

Later

Kiki stretched, walking into her room. She hadn't seen Neji, which struck her as odd. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to a little white envelope on her bed. Opening it, she read the script, her eyes growing cloudy as she reread the short note from Neji.

_NO! _The little voice in her head screamed. It was happening to her again, she had let her heart be snatched up in the arms of another only to have it dashed to the rocky cliffs in an instant. She jumped out of her room and raced back to the waterfall, her thoughts and her eyes overflowing. At the top of the waterfall, she lunged over the edge, diving into the frothy expanse of water below. The water churned around her, but she was oblivious to it all, her sorrow overwhelming her senses.

Outside of the cave, Itachi and Kisame stared into the frothing expanse of water. Kisame looked at Itachi, "Hey, wasn't that your girlfriend?"

_DON'T HATE ME!!!!! I just HAD to stop it there!!! Anyway, please review!!! Oh, and if you get any time, please check out MegumiRaeda or Lunaverserocks. They are my buds who have been encouraging me to write more with this, and they have some pretty AWESOME fics!!! _


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